In all those applications, 227Ac (a beta source) is merely a progenitor which generates alpha-emitting isotopes upon its decay.
How, then, can they be said to generate alpha?
Even if hedge funds are generating alpha, they are keeping most of it for themselves.
Defenders of hedge funds often cite it because it concluded that the funds do generate alpha on a consistent basis.
DealBook » After a Rough Year, Hedge Fund Industry Gathers in Florida | Public pensions and "generating alpha" are among the topics being discussed at the 2012 GAIM conference for hedge fund professionals.
They want to know about personal dramas, lavish purchases, anything that can lure their portfolio managers away from the single purpose of generating alpha, or returns in excess of the market.
The result of the study is nothing short of breathtaking if you're in the investment management business: "The analysis finds no evidence that the recommendations of the investment consultant for these U.S. equity products enabled investors to outperform their benchmarks or generate alpha," a measure of performance that adjusts for risk.
This information flow plus thoughtful investment theses, due diligence and sharp character judgments are the primary basis of top investors' investment decisions – methods that have historically generated alpha for limited partners.
The Third Avenue funds I looked at certainly weren't generating alpha or beating appropriate benchmarks".
Some investment managers claim a special ability to "generate alpha" (to earn a higher-than-expected return), but their claims are rooted more in clever marketing than in actual evidence.
When confronted with data on the general underperformance of active managers against standard benchmarks (in this case the S&P 500 index) Barse acknowledged that generating alpha was "hard," but also stated that attempting to do so was a "thrill" and an "intellectual challenge".
