News that hedge fund managers are increasingly spreading their tentacles into the rigidly regulated world of the Ucits III fund throws up an interesting dilemma for industry participants, or at least those of a male persuasion.
The whacky free-wheeling mavericks of the hedge fund world have traditionally cocked a snook at the dusty old establishment by swanning about the streets of Mayfair and Stamford, Connecticut unashamedly tieless.
Such reckless informality remains near blasphemous in the buttoned-up world of traditional asset management. So how will reformed hedgies react to this thorny sartorial dilemma?
A recent visit to a hedge fund house in the midst of embracing the elixir of life that is Ucits offered a glimpse into the future.
One of your correspondent’s hosts was resplendent in a bright shiny necktie, while his colleague remained brazenly open-necked. But hedgies are nothing if not resourceful. On being challenged as to his dress standards, our tieless friend promptly unfurled a waiting tie from his inside jacket pocket with the flourish of a stage magician, declaring “I’m hedged”.
It’s good to know that at least one industry looks set to thrive amid the economic doom and gloom. It’s time to go long the tie retailers and short the purveyors of chinos.
