Hedge funds are no longer the preserve of the rich – they’re good for us all

Once, hedge funds seemed like the part of the financial system most likely to trigger a global crisis. Yet the current crisis has seen them really come-of-age.

If you had asked almost anybody in the markets six months ago which bit of the financial system was most likely to trigger a global crisis, it's a fair bet most people would have pointed the finger at hedge funds.

Secretive, loosely regulated, highly leveraged, far too rich for their own good, hedge funds looked like villains. They almost broke the system in 1998 following the collapse of Long Term Capital Management.

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Simon Nixon

Simon is the chief leader writer and columnist at The Times and previous to that, he was at The Wall Street Journal for 9 years as the chief European commentator. Simon also wrote for Reuters Breakingviews as the Executive Editor earlier in his career. Simon covers personal finance topics such as property, the economy and other areas for example stockmarkets and funds.