Financial Times Guide to Investing in Funds, The

Jérôme de Lavenère Lussan is the founder and managing director of Laven Partners – and investment management consultant whose specialism is operational due diligence on investment companies. Laven Partners has recently won the ‘Best Regulatory Advisory Firm 2009’, awarded by Hedge Fund Manager magazine. Jérôme trained as a lawyer and worked at Jones Day before running a hedge fund: this has given him the detailed understanding of how an investment management business works. Jérôme has taught on courses for Financial Times Knowledge and Euromoney. He also participates in in-house training for FT journalists, known as ‘FT Business Masterclass’. He’s frequently interviewed for market comments and recently appeared on Bloomberg TV.

• 1. Introduction2. The Manager3. The Fund4. The Prospectus5. Governance6. Service Providers7. Front and Back Office Operations8. Investment Process and Products9. Risk Management10. Compliance11. Background Checks12. Conclusion

This book highlights the many pitfalls that investors often overlook or do not understand when investing. This includes a range of investment vehicles ranging from offshore hedge funds through to onshore regulated vehicles.  Far too often, investors place too much reliance on brand names or regulators to protect themselves or to defend an investment decision.  Jerome Lussan has been able to provide thought provoking insight, especially with respect to operational investment issues.  A must-have tool in your investment kit!Marc de Kloe, Senior Product Specialist, Head of Hedge Funds, ABN AMRO Private BankingThis book is a timely and valuable guide for fund investors. I very much enjoyed reading it. By building on his practical experience and a range of excellent case studies Jerome Lussan successfully highlights the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to fund evaluation in order to make successful investments.Professor Robert Kosowski, Director of Risk Management Lab and Centre for Hedge Fund Research, Imperial College LondonWith his deep knowledge of the industry and his pragmatic approach, Lussan gives not only an exhaustive overview of the organization, structure and service providers involved in investment funds but he also covers comprehensively actual developments in the industry, such as risk management or compliance and offers to the reader some insightful case studies. Accessible and understandable but at the same time thorough and critical. Paolo Vinciarelli, Head of Investment Funds, BCEE LuxembourgInvestors are invariably seduced by return patterns. They might do better and follow the Bard’s advice to “Let every eye negotiate for itself and trust no agent”. This helpful book suggests the best ways investors might improve their eye for better managed funds and hopefully better returns.Edmund Bellord,Asset Allocation Portfolio Strategist,GMO LLC  Hedge fund investing requires a blend of art and science which Lussan understands well and this comes out from the book, and provides an invaluable insight from a leading expert. The Financial Times Guide to Investing in Funds teaches readers how to be disciplined when investing to obtain the right disclosures to ensure the protection of their assets. Read this book and you will learn how due diligence principles can protect your investments.Nathanael Benzaken, Managing Director, Head of Managed Account Development, Lyxor Asset Management  This is a comprehensive guide for all professionals and investors into the due diligence process behind picking the right fund for their portfolio. Too many  investors focus simply on fund statistics and the manager's underlying strategy and neglect the basics of good fund management which includes corporate governance, regulatory controls and elementary accounting. This impressive new book makes amends and forces the investor to think about the actual structure of fund management and understand how it can so easily go wrong - along the way Lussan fleshes out his analysis with real world examples of investment disasters including the notorious Bernard Madoff affair. An essential read for any sophisticated investor" David Stevenson, Financial Times Adventurous Investor Columnist