Who's the patsy?

摘要

Small investors are often portrayed as the "dumb money" in markets, doomed to buy just before a crash and fatally drawn into buying fashionable sectors like technology funds in the late 1990s. But are wealthy and institutional investors really any better?rnA new study by researchers at the European School of Management and Technology examines how investors allocated money to hedge funds from 1994 to 2004. This process ought to be highly sophisticated. After all, hedge-fund investors tend to fall into three categories: rich individuals, who usually take advice from private banks; institutions, such as pension funds and endowments, which often employ investment consultants; and funds of funds, which market themselves on their expertise.