A few weeks ago Valeant became a household name. Their business model of acquiring drugs and raising prices as a means of generating, um, “organic” revenue growth came under scrutiny. The stock tanked.

Valeant has been a darling of the investment community. You probably own it via a mutual fund in your 401(k).

But what about the “smart” money? You know these people – they do lots and lots of research on individual companies and assess their clients generous fees for the pleasure of investing alongside them – of piggybacking off of their “independent” thinking.

Really? Are there truly unique ideas out there or has the space become overcrowded to the point where everyone is investing in the same deals?

Money has to be put to work. Clients won’t stand for holding cash. Managers can have a best idea, a second best idea, etc…but can they have an 83rd best idea? 112th?

Where is the point of too much money chasing too few ideas leaving all, um, “hedge funds” invested in the same thing? By the way, what exactly are they hedging if they’re simply long stocks? Where’s the hedge? What’s the fee really paying for?