How are you different from a hedge fund?

Hedge funds comprise a very heterogeneous group and are very difficult to characterize with broad strokes.  However, we like to think of Arete as having some of the important characteristics of the best hedge funds such as an intense orientation to delivering investment performance, but without having some of the negative characteristics often associated with hedge funds such as high leverage, risky investments, poor disclosure, high minimum investments, and lockup periods.