Hedge funds are most often set up as private investment partnerships that are open to a limited number of investors and require a very large initial minimum investment. Investments in hedge funds are illiquid as they often require investors keep their money in the fund for at least one year.

A private equity firm is an investment manager that makes investments in the private equity of operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leveraged buyout, venture capital, and growth capital.

Private equity firms and hedge funds are like in that both invest from a leveraged pool of capital normally contributed by limited partners; both compensate the management team based on a percentage of profits (typically 20%) as well as charge a fee on assets under management (typically 2%); and both are lightly regulated (as of this writing).