Abstract

Concerning hedge funds and private equity, opinions differ: Critics refer to it as predatory capitalism, supporters enthuse about the champions league of investment industry. A theoreti¬cal analysis with focus on speculation will be followed by an overview of the market. Consi¬dering that social concerns cannot be overcome solely with theoretical, economic argumenta¬tion, financial companies will be reconstructed as moral stakeholders in a subsequent business ethical evaluation. Based on this stakeholder approach the business model will be described in the context of individual ethical responsibilities and the corporate governance debate. With this interdisciplinary survey the authors break new ground and show further research perspec¬tives. Economic and moral arguments will promote to deal with criticism on hedge funds and private equity companies on a factual basis.

JEL-Klassifikation: B5, G10, G20, G23, G24, G28