Is this a sure sign that the retail hedge fund movement is for real? We've been talking for years about how new products would make hedge fund investing possible for retail investors. It's really not a surprise that the biggest asset manager of all seems to be jumping into the fray.

A new fund, BlackRock Core Alternatives Portfolio, is expected to open in the first quarter of 2010 and will be managed by the industry giant's alternative asset division. The firm already offers such a fund to British investors and seems bent on tapping demand in the United States, where the hedge fund industry has staged a remarkable recovery. The wrinkle here is that this is not really a for-the-masses product. It is available only to accredited investors, but they can invest as little as $50,000. We'll see plenty of products for nonaccredited investors as well, but perhaps not from BlackRock. 

For more:
- here's a Reuters article

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