Private clients are coming back to hedge funds but are investing in different types of vehicles than those they favoured before the crisis, and are now looking for transparency, liquidity and control. Yuri Bender reports

As the ETF industry continues to expand, and is now attracting private clients, these vehicles are widening access to the types of investments that were previously only available to institutions. Elisa Trovato reports

The safeguards built-in to Ucits funds are making these vehicles very attractive to investor’s seeking more liquidity and transparency, reports Elisa Trovato, and their use is now spreading beyond Europe

Greater levels of regulation for hedge funds are inevitable. But, asks Yuri Bender, will they follow the draft EU directives? And what are the real drivers behind the proposed legislation?

Up until September last year hedge funds were so popular with investors that some had to restrict entry, but a rush of redemptions since then has seen many go out of business. But what does the future hold for those that survive? Henry Smith reports

Structured products offering capital protection are an attractive option in turbulent markets, but volatility itself has developed into an asset class, and benefits from a negative correlation to equities, writes Ceri Jones

A current challenge for managers in the Sharia-compliant fund space is to respond to investors’ aversion to risk by offering fixed-dividend products and property investments, writes Ceri Jones

Three multi-strategy funds of funds and one equity market-neutral fund of funds which came through 2008 relatively unscathed offer some lessons for wealth-protection in stormy times, writes Martin Steward

Many people had a sense that something was not quite right with Bernard Madoff's investments, writes Martin Steward, but chose to ignore the signs

Fully integrating environmental, social and governance factors into investment processes is key for private clients who want to apply their values across their portfolios – not just invest in “SRI themes”. That means ESG investing needs to be a core process for private banks, too, writes Martin Steward

Private clients became re-acquainted with every type of hedge fund risk in September – market, liquidity, operational, counterparty, even legal risk. Allocators need to ask the right questions to stand the best chance of weathering the storm, writes Martin Steward

A structuring team that can negotiate with the banks and advise the clients is vital if fund managers are not to be restricted in their asset management, writes Martin Steward