Hedge funds, sceptics like to say, are a compensation structure masquerading as an asset class. A glance at the list that follows will show the truth underlying the cliché: hedge funds have few common features beside their performance-linked fees, writes James Mackintosh.

Long-short funds buying and selling equities are a far cry from global macro investors betting on interest rates and currency movements. Still less are they linked to the funds investing in distressed sovereign debt,or even football players.