Hedge Fund Confidential

One of the meeting's real surprises was to hear so much talk about global equities, given their strong run, and the last presentation was no exception. Geoffrey Symonds of GLS Capital spoke about the possibilities in the GCC countries. "The macro story here is excellent, and the region looks a lot like Russia nine or 10 years ago," Symonds said.

Symonds cited the Western-educated, highly professional management at most companies he visited in the region and noted opportunities particularly in investment management and construction. On the former, Symonds believes that last year's gulf states market crash was overdone, and on the latter, that despite talk of a property bubble, real estate is still extremely cheap by world standards. A penthouse apartment sells for about $350 per sq. ft. (about $3,750 per sq m). Comparable properties in New York City and London sell for about five times that price.

As usual, pointed challenges arose. One questioner noted that the construction boom depended largely on cheap labor from the Indian subcontinent, labor that will grow more expensive as these workers are integrated into society down the road. Another questioner expressed skepticism about occupancy rates. This kind of push and pull is what makes markets, of course. The difference is that for hedge funds, trades gone wrong can be disastrous.

This being Vegas, the meeting is concluded with some gambling, in the form of Hedge Against Poverty, a charity poker tournament. It's a benefit for the creation of a Millennium Village in Haiti, an extension of the self-sufficient economic units that economist Jeffrey Sachs first devised for poor African communities.

Millionaire hedgies playing high-stakes poker in an over-the-top Las Vegas hotel to improve a Third World country. The contradictions abound, but these are people who don't mind being unconventional. By the same token, they don't consider themselves gamblers. That's the greater irony. Las Vegas was built on wild, exposed, highly leveraged directional bets. I'm not sure many of the hedgies would have been comfortable with such risky trades.