>These Hedge Funds are pretty exclusive; aside from the occasional
>pension fund that invested in one, the "average" working-class
>investor (I am thinking of 401K contributors) isn't getting into them.
That's part of what I mean. The idea that a 401K is better than a traditional pension plan was easier to sell because the stock market in general was hyped as the way to solve all your financial problems. It's toned down a little now I guess, but I remember a lot of commercials from the '90s that peddled the idea that the market could make anyone, if not rich, at least a lot better off.