The hedge and private-equity funds will be the next dominos to fall. The process may already have started. And just as the last few months have been dominated by the bailout of banks, we will soon hear more about the sinking of alternative asset managers.
We are going to see a lot of consolidation, and a lot of funds are going to close down,'' says Jacob Schmidt, chief executive officer of London-based hedge-fund advisory firm Schmidt Research Partners. ``We are going to see a real reduction in the number of offerings out there -- and some of the good guys are going to suffer along with the me-toos and copycats.''
Job Losses
Now the pain is starting to spread.
The hedge-fund industry lost $79 billion through asset-price declines and investor withdrawals during September, according to the Singapore-based research and publishing company Eurekahedge Pte. The executive search firm Options Group estimates that there may be as many as 10,000 job losses in the industry this year.
