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This paper proposes a novel database merging approach and re-examines the fundamental questions regarding hedge fund performance. Before drawing conclusions about fund performance, we form an aggregate database by exploiting all available information across and within seven commercial databases so that the widest possible data coverage is obtained and the effect of data biases is mitigated. Average performance is significantly lower but more persistent when these conclusions are inferred from the aggregate database than from some of the individual commercial databases. Although hedge funds deliver performance persistence, the average fund does not deliver significant risk-adjusted net-of-fee returns while the gross-of-fee returns remain significantly positive. Consistent with previous literature, we find a significant association between fund characteristics related to share restrictions as well as compensation structure and risk-adjusted returns.

This paper documents a decline in aggregate hedge fund performance over the past decade. We test whether a set of prediction models can select subsets of individual funds that buck the trend and subsequently outperform. Two of the predictors reliably pick funds that lower the volatility and raise the Sharpe ratio of a multi-asset class portfolio relative to a stock/bond portfolio over the full 1997-2016 sample. Hedge fund allocations reduce volatility across two sub-periods but fail to improve the Sharpe ratio from 2008 onwards. Potential explanations for the erosion of hedge fund performance are explored.

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This paper examines the effect of regulatory constraints on fund performance and risk by comparing conventional and UCITS hedge funds. Using a matching estimator approach, we estimate the indirect cost of UCITS regulation to be between 1.06% and 4.05% per annum in terms of risk-adjusted returns. These performance differences are likely to stem from UCITS constraints such as those governing eligible assets, diversification, and short selling, and cannot be explained by differences in redemption terms or level of leverage. We confirm that our performance results are not driven by management company characteristics, fund manager characteristics or unobserved confounder bias.