Onshore and Offshore Hedge Funds: Are They Twins?

Contrary to offshore hedge funds, U.S.-domiciled ("onshore") funds are subject to strict marketing prohibitions, accredited investor requirements, a limited number of investors, and taxable accounts. We exploit these differences to test predictions about organizational design, investment strategy, capital flows, and fund performance. We find that onshore funds are associated with greater share restrictions, more liquid assets, and a reduced sensitivity of capital flows to superior past performance. We also find some evidence that onshore funds outperform offshore funds, depending on the sample period. The results suggest that a fund's investment and financial policies reflect differences in investor clienteles and the regulatory environment.