The study looked at whether investing in hedge fund indexes can help private investors diversify their assets and reduce volatility. Instead of investing in different hedge fund categories, investors can now invest directly in benchmark indexes for diversification. The research found that most hedge fund managers do not show significant skill or generate positive returns. For example, managers of long/short equity hedge funds do not have market timing abilities or generate positive returns. The study used a dataset from 1998 to 2003 that included both active and defunct funds, avoiding bias towards successful funds.