http://www.quadrigafund.com/db/AboutQuadriga.asp?

Id=26&sid=149&Menu=0 It is believed that the first futures transactions were carried out with Dutch t ulip bulbs in the 17th century. Whether or not this is true, by the mid-1800s it became clear that some system for standardizing commodity futures would be nece ssary. In 1848 the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was founded and has become the most im portant worldwide futures exchange for agricultural products. For the first time , standardised commodity futures were traded. Variables such as price, quality, quantity and delivery date were standardized. The late 1970s saw market participants move away from traditional commodity futu res trading and launch brands such as interest products, currencies and treasury bonds. But the principle of futures contracts stayed the same: a specified pric e for a specified product was determined for a specified future date.

Commodity futures trading became simply futures trading but again, the original princ e of futures contracts stayed the same. "To hedge" originally meant "to protect against financial loss". Hedging was the idea behind the worlds first hedge fund, founded by Alfred W. Jones in 1949. Jone s aim was to create an alternative investment portfolio with successful returns ev en on investments that showed low or even negative growth when compared with tra ditional stock and bond markets. Jones wanted to prove that positive returns are possible within both bull and bear markets by using a variety of financial inst ruments. Hedge funds are an "all-weather-investment" and are able to achieve profits from rising as well as falling markets. In fact, the less correlation hedge funds ha ve to stocks and bonds, the better. They are considered to be a "market-neutral" investment. The right hedge fund in the right portfolio can minimize risk and o ptimize performance. In the world of investing, the hedge fund industry is considered to be the premi er option. Only the best fund managers survive, with about half disappearing fro m the market within the first three years. When choosing a hedge fund manager a solid track record is important. The fund manager should have a record of at lea st five years of successful trading. Hedge funds are NOT highly speculative. This was a myth which derives from a tim e when hedge funds were an elite vehicle available only to the wealthy and influ ential. Only investors with $1 million at their disposal were accepted as member s of the exclusive club of the hedge fund investment world. The eligibility requ irements in combination with the fact that hedge funds are not subject to the sa me regulatory authority as other investments created a great deal of mystery and speculation about the products and their fallibility. Today, such rumours are not the reality of the hedge fund world. In many cases h edge funds can reduce risk and volatility in a traditional portfolio. Furthermor e, because hedge funds are able to use a significantly greater number of financi al instruments they are able to achieve significantly higher gains than traditio nal investment funds. In the same way that common sense tells us not to place all our eggs in one bask et, Superfund does not encourage investors to place all their assets in a hedge fund. Hedge funds should be used as a powerful and effective diversification ins trument within a traditional portfolio and in combination with other investments .

In order to reduce the risk and increase returns, an investment of up to 20 % as a part of a traditional investment portfolio is recommended. Hedge funds differ from traditional investment funds in a number of significant ways. Hedge funds have a single goal V to achieve gains in rising as well as declining markets Hedge funds have no legal restrictions Hedge fund managers are allowed to make use of all existing financial instrumen ts to achieve gains. Today, 8000 hedge funds exist worldwide and manage capital worth more than 900 b illion USD. In comparison, the market capitalization of all US stocks amounts to 15,000 billion USD - about 20 times as much. The hedge fund world is still cent ered in the USA with George Soros as one of its best-known representatives. The overriding goal of a hedge fund is to decrease portfolio risk via non-correl ation or negative correlation. Imagine a portfolio that consists of two risky assets: one wins when the sun shi nes and the other wins when it rains. Combining both, one has a portfolio that a lways wins, no matter if the sun shines or if it rains. Now, add a third asset t hat wins when it is cloudy and, in combination, the portfolio covers all possibi lities. One of the key tenets of Modern Portfolio Theory, as developed by Nobel Prize La ureate Dr. Harry M. Markowitz, is that more efficient portfolios can be created by diversifying among asset categories with low to negative correlations. By div ersifying a portfolio, it is possible to reduce risk while also increasing retur ns. The Superfund Group's trading strategy has achieved remarkable success for its c lients by adhering to four cornerstones that together build a solid foundation f or investing. Diversification Superfund trades futures in many financial centers around the globe. Bonds, stoc k indices and currencies are traded as well as commodites like crude oil, gold, wheat, coffee, cattle, cotton etc. Superfund's trading system is able to choose from more than 100 markets and is constantly on the lookout for attractive inves tment opportunities. Diversification (spreading of risk) is also achieved by a l ow correlation between the individual traded contracts. Technical Analysis Superfund uses a self-developed, fully automated computerized trading system. Th e system uses a wide array of technical indicators to identify price patterns of fering a high probability of success. Based on these price patterns, the system automatically issues real time buy and sell orders. Trend Following Strategies The computer trading system is designed primarily to profit from price trends. T he lifespan of these trends varies; some last for a few days, others for several

months. The key to our success lies in limiting draw downs through the continua l updating of stop orders. In this way, if a trend reverses, our loss can be lim ited; if a trend continues, profits are protected. Money Management Consistent risk management represents the most important element of the Superfun d investment strategy. It limits initial risk per trade to a pre-determined maxi mum of 2.0 percent of the fund's total assets. In addition, the system continuou sly screens volatility and adjusts portfolio exposure accordingly. Superfund's proprietary system is designed to ensure minimal correlation to trad itional investments. Globally, the spectrum of traded instruments consists of 10 0 futures contracts in both commodity and financial futures. Fundamental to Supe rfund's trading style is a low correlation between the different instruments and high liquidity for order execution. Most systematic trend-following systems employ technical indicators such as movi ng averages or Bollinger bands to identify market trends. The Superfund Group be lieves the key to using such indicators successfully lies in the way they are in terrelated and then applied. Superfund uses a proprietary technical algorithm to attempt to predict price trends in advance. A key element in Superfund's success is the limitation of drawdowns via daily ma intenance of stop orders. In this way, if a trend reverses, the loss of the Grou p's funds is theoretically limited; if a trend continues, Superfund's profits ar e theoretically protected. Superfund's goal is to optimize winning trades.