Lost money yesterday? Thank a hedge fund. In this case, Thank Bear Stearns.

Is that over the top? Or is it fair?

When these guys roil up the markets, as a long-term investor, if you truly are a long term investor, you can just be above it all. And yet. Nine or ten-to-one leverage (in this instance). High fees. Unquantifiable risk. Illiquid underlying holdings. Falsely implied superior trading skills. Some folks have lost money here. Perhaps they were "qualified investors". That doesn't mean they are truly sophisticated investors. They just have (or had) more money than some folks. Which means it is OK with the regulators to sell them heavily-commissioned investment "stuff". This system needs work. The only problem is that the politicians are as bad or worse than the people who create and sell investment junk "products".



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