New York (HedgeCo.Net) – The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund industry body, has published “The Case for Hedge Funds”, a compilation of AIMA’s thought-leadership research since the global financial crisis.

The 28-page booklet summarises the themes that AIMA has explored since 2008 as it sought to demonstrate the value of the world’s hedge fund industry to investors, financial markets and the broader economy.

It includes excerpts from AIMA’s key research papers, including the “Roadmap to Hedge Funds”, the first guide about hedge funds to be produced collaboratively by the industry and investors; “The Cost of Compliance”, a global survey of managers that revealed the significant investments they are making in order to comply with the new regulatory requirements; “Beyond 60/40”, which demonstrated the different roles that hedge funds play in institutional investors’ portfolios; and “Apples and Apples”, an educational guide to understanding hedge fund performance.

There are also extracts from many of AIMA’s white papers and articles on a range of topics including the industry’s social utility, the impact of institutionalisation, shadow banking, short selling and the industry’s reputation.

AIMA CEO Jack Inglis said: “Ever since the onset of the financial crisis, AIMA has worked tirelessly to demonstrate the case for hedge funds to policymakers, regulators, investors and the media. We have now pulled these various arguments and pieces of research together into a major compendium of our work. This work of course continues. We have more research in the pipeline which will enable us to continue to demonstrate the value of the hedge fund industry to the broader economy.”