Nick England, CIA

2008 has evidenced one of the most volatile periods in the history of global markets. The end of easy credit, the so-called credit crunch, was swift and brutal. Few would have foreseen the magnitude of the banking and insurance collapses that ensued and threatened a systemic failure of the world banking system. Fewer still would have predicted that cash itself would no longer be a risk-free asset. Some may see funds of funds as a cash diversifier. Such black swan events invalidate hedge fund