I'm not sure which DB pension funds actually invested in hedge funds before 2002 (CalPERS themselves didn't make their first investment until then despite the announcement in '99).
A better data set for the period might come from an E&F universe, who were early institutional adopters. Cambridge Associates might be one such source if you are curious.
Before dismissing a broad investment area willy nilly, I'd suggest diving in and getting to know what's underneath the surface. The conclusion I have come to after doing this work across asset classes for a long time is that the best and brightest spend their time where the compensation is best, and today in the public markets, that's clearly in the hedge fund universe.
Brad,
I'm not sure which DB pension funds actually invested in hedge funds before 2002 (CalPERS themselves didn't make their first investment until then despite the announcement in '99).
A better data set for the period might come from an E&F universe, who were early institutional adopters. Cambridge Associates might be one such source if you are curious.
Before dismissing a broad investment area willy nilly, I'd suggest diving in and getting to know what's underneath the surface. The conclusion I have come to after doing this work across asset classes for a long time is that the best and brightest spend their time where the compensation is best, and today in the public markets, that's clearly in the hedge fund universe.