Low expected returns from stocks and bonds have persuaded some of the worlds top pension funds to look at hedge funds as a way of boosting their portfolios, panellists at a hedge fund conference said on Tuesday.  Poor average returns from the industry over the last couple of years — around 7.5 percent last year and less than 10 percent in 2004 — have not put them off and neither have losses of around 2 percent in May and June.  CalPERS, the largest pension plan in the United States which has 83 percent of its assets in stocks and bonds, is looking to invest $4 billion of a total around $210 billion in hedge funds by the end of this year.
Pensions look to hedge funds for high returns | Reuters.com

Reu