I can't edit any more, but I thought it might be helpful to others if I add this: I'm not really disagreeing with you either: I agree that the conclusion of th

I can't edit any more, but I thought it might be helpful to others if I add this: I'm not really disagreeing with you either: I agree that the conclusion of the paper is mostly obvious, but it's valuable because it is important to show that beta is overshadowing alpha significantly in hedge funds. I could be wrong, but I would be surprised to see top hedge fund managers claiming that their results come from beta, not alpha. If they did, it would be harder to justify the amount they are paid during periods of good performance. I also do think that some manager skill exists in all areas of the market to a limited and varied extent. But, I suspect that even the hedge fund managers who do "provide alpha" capture most of it with their fees, leaving their clients with market returns or worse.