Hedging for the Masses! New Funds Mimic Offerings for Fat Cats

The tony hedge fund club beckons, but do you really want to be a member?

Traditionally, mutual funds have been for regular folks, and hedge funds, largely unregulated and aggressive portfolios with million-dollar minimums, have been for fat cats and institutions. But over the past three years, a spate of hedge fundlike mutual funds with freewheeling strategies and more modest minimums have cropped up. The latest example is the Invesco Advantage fund, run by a hedge-fund veteran, which starts a subscription period on July 24.

The upshot: These high-octane funds may expose investors to more risk than they're used to, but if they boost fund companies' profits and help them stem the tide of managers heading for the more lucrative hedge fund hills, more may be on the way. ...