“"There are a few investment managers, of course, who are very good—though in the short run, it's difficult to determine whether a great record is due to luck or talent," Buffett wrote. "Most advisors, however, are far better at generating high fees than they are at generating high returns. In truth, their core competence is salesmanship." The average hedge fund return over the last 10 years was 5.67 percent net of fees, according to the HedgeFund Intelligence Global Index, which tracks funds across strategies. That compares to an annualized return of 7.65 percent for the S&P 500 index over the same period. (Many hedge fund strategies don't focus on stocks, making such simple comparisons misleading, according to industry proponents.) The private equity industry also likes to tout its high returns: a PE benchmark average gain over the last 10 years ended June 30, 2014, is 14.3 percent net of fees, compared to 7.8 percent for the S&P 500, according to the Private Equity Growth Capital Council. ”
