Considerations[edit]
Management fees for FOFs are typically higher than those on traditional investment funds because they include the management fees charged by the underlying funds.[3]
Pension funds, endowments and other institutions often invest in funds of hedge funds for part or all of their "alternative asset" programs, i.e., investments other than traditional stock and bond holdings.[citation needed]
After allocation of the levels of fees payable and taxation, returns on FOF investments will generally be lower than what single-manager funds can yield.
The due diligence and safety of investing in FOFs has come under question as a result of the Bernie Madoff scandal, where many FOFs put substantial investments into the scheme. It became clear that a motivation for this was the lack of fees by Madoff, which gave the illusion that the FOF was performing well. The due diligence of the FOFs apparently did not include asking why Madoff was not making this charge for his services.[4] 2008 and 2009 saw FOFs take a battering from investors and the media on all fronts from the hollow promises made by over-eager marketers to the strength (or lack) of their due diligence processes to those carefully explained and eminently justifiable extra layers of fees, all reaching their zenith with the Bernie Madoff fiasco.[5]