Book Reviews: Three Very Different Hedge Fund Books

How to Create and Manage a Hedge Fund: A Professional's Guide
by Stuart A. McCrary
I’m not sure why this book received so many negative reviews on Amazon. First, who is the book not for? It’s not for someone who wants to invest in hedge funds (unless they want a very thorough understanding of how hedge funds work). It’s not for someone looking for hedge fund trading techniques. And it’s not for someone who's already running a hedge fund.
It is designed for the stockbroker, money manager, pension fund manager, mutual fund portfolio manager, or personal trader. They know how to trade, and now they are considering going out on their own and setting up their own hedge fund. The book covers the advantages and disadvantages of the business structures (corporation versus partnership, general versus limited, S versus C, domestic versus offshore, etc.). It discusses business plans, performance measurement, legislation and regulations (as of 2002), and tax reporting, all of which many portfolio managers might have a cursory understanding of but not all the details. After all, their expertise is trading.
For hedge fund manager wannabes, I recommend this as the starting textbook.

Trade Like a Hedge Fund: 20 Successful Uncorrelated Strategies & Techniques to Winning Profits (Wiley Trading)
by James Altucher
An excellent book with many techniques I was unaware of. (How many of you are aware that Wednesday is a trend reversal day?) The strategies are very diverse and all well researched. I’ve already put one of the techniques (with a slight adjustment) to use last week, very successfully I might add. My only suggestion for a new edition would be to expand Chapter 6, "Stocks Less Than $5", with regards to differentiating the OVER type stocks from the WCOM type stocks. New traders should be aware that the “under 5’s” are not a slam dunk.
One of the most important chapters in the book is Chapter 19, "What Does Not Work?" This chapter debunks many previously published trading techniques.
Some readers may ask, why all the tables and charts and graphs. The answer is “Validation”. All of this backup shows that Altucher has done his homework. I strongly recommend this book to both new traders and experienced traders who want to learn new trading techniques.

Confessions of a Street Addict
by James J. Cramer
Ever want to know how and why Jim Cramer turned out the way he did? Ever want to know why Cramer became “addicted” to the stock market? Ever want to know what it’s really like being a hedge fund trader? Check out this book.