[Update]: As of December 2025, the website of Hedonova has been suspended due to a legal notice:
Have you come across Hedonova on the internet? With some controversial information available online, you might be curious to figure out more about this hedge-fund company.
Hedonova is an investment firm with the mission of democratizing investment for everyone because, according to the company, “anyone, anywhere in the world, can invest in anything they want”.
The company claimed more than $800 million in assets under management (AUM) and a return of more than 400% in only three years. These figures were never independently verified, and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has since sued the company for fraud.
Here are some of the reasons why we do not recommend investing with Hedonova in a nutshell:
- In June 2024, the SEC sued Hedonova LLC and Hedonova Advisors LLC for fraud, alleging that they misled investors about the fund’s operations and governance, including the names of its auditors, administrator and banks.
- In November 2024, a US court barred Hedonova from accepting money from US investors while the case continues, and California’s financial regulator fined the company and its CEO $70,000.
- Most of the company employees’ social profiles seem artificial. We have found the use of stock images and other warning signs.
- None of the Chief Officers have given video interviews where we could confirm their identities.
- Lack of information and transparency about the investments made. The information on Hedonova’s website is very vague and does not display details about the vehicles/assets invested, making it hard to confirm some of these investments.
- Despite Hedonova being registered as an investment adviser (RIA) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), this does not suggest any endorsement or recommendation by the SEC or any other regulatory body.
- Other users have shared their concerns online (1, 2, 3, 4).
- Hedonova has hired influencers to promote their fund (we were also contacted), however some of them have decided to close the partnership and revisit their opinion about the company (example here).
- In 2023, Hedonova announced a $16 million investment into a startup that didn’t exist.
- Some of the employees of Hedonova on Linkedin had no activity (posts or reactions) before their time on Hedonova, despite having important roles in the world’s leading companies, which appears to be a sign of fabricated LinkedIn profiles.
- Very wide range of asset classes invested. Hedonova manages to invest in 10 different alternative asset classes, including real estate worldwide, art, music royalty, agronomy and more. Becoming an expert and profitable in one of these areas is already challenging, which makes us question how Hedonova has managed to have the expertise to invest profitably in all these different asset classes.
- We couldn’t find any independent entity confirmation of the track record.
Below, we explain the legal actions against Hedonova and the warning signs we found.
Overview
Hedonova stands out as an investment firm that concentrates on a single hedge fund. The company is relatively new, founded in 2020 by a group of supposedly former UBS and Morgan Stanley employees.
Hedonova focuses on a single fund invested in various alternative assets, diversified across +10 classes, including equipment finance, litigation finance, real estate, startups, and more. These asset classes are sometimes known for having more restricted access than other classes, such as stocks traded on well-known exchanges.
Is Hedonova safe?
At first glance, it is evident that Hedonova is a registered investment adviser (RIA) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“). Keep in mind that becoming an RIA does not suggest any endorsement or recommendation by the SEC or any other regulatory body. Rather, it signifies that the investment advisor has successfully met all the registration criteria set forth by that specific agency. When we checked in October 2026, the SEC’s adviser database still listed Hedonova Advisors as registered, even though the SEC is suing it for fraud.
As stated on their website footer: “Hedonova’s security offering is SEC qualified under 506(c) exemption of Regulation D of the Securities Act of 1933″ (our bold).
The SEC Regulation D (Reg D) is one of the easiest and quickest ways to collect money from investors with the least amount of compliance. As found on Wikipedia, “A Regulation D offering is intended to make access to the capital markets possible for small companies that could not otherwise bear the costs of a normal SEC registration”.
Legal actions against Hedonova
Hedonova is not just a company with red flags. It faces formal action from US regulators, which you can check in their own records:
| Date | What happened |
| 24 June 2024 | The SEC sues Hedonova LLC and Hedonova Advisors LLC for fraud in a federal court in Los Angeles. It alleges that they raised at least $10 million while naming a Big Four auditor, an administrator and banks that had no record of working with the fund. |
| 18 November 2024 | The court enters a preliminary injunction, agreed by Hedonova, that bars it from soliciting or accepting money from US investors and requires a disclosure of the SEC case on its website. |
| 19 November 2024 | Hedonova settles with California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), which found that it had sold interests to at least 146 investors for about $5.7 million. Hedonova Advisors and CEO Alexander Cavendish agree to pay a $70,000 penalty, without admitting or denying the findings. |
| December 2025 | Hedonova’s website is suspended following a legal notice. |
Source: SEC Litigation Release 26041, SEC Litigation Release 26175 and the DFPI settlement agreement, checked in October 2026.
The SEC also says the fund claimed extraordinary returns that it never backed up, despite subpoenas and requests. A preliminary injunction is not a final ruling, and Hedonova can still contest the allegations. Even so, if you are considering investing, these actions alone are reason enough to stay away. If you already invested, keep all your records and consider contacting the SEC through its tips and complaints portal or a lawyer.
The team
The team presented on the Hedonova website raises some concerns, as explained below:
The CEO
The CEO of Hedonova is Alexander Cavendish, an allegedly former employee of UBS and Morgan Stanley, but some warning signs surfaced during our search. A Google search revealed no apparent connections to his previous companies, despite Alexander supposedly holding the position of Senior Vice President of the Securitized Products Group at Morgan Stanley.
Furthermore, when attempting to locate Alexander on LinkedIn, we discovered two profiles that did not align:
Lastly, Alexander, who professes to be a finance professional and identifies as a neo-economist on his Quora profile, was found to have plagiarized a post from Medium to respond to a thread on Quora.
The CIO
The CIO of Hedonova is Suman Bannerjee, a finance expert with an extensive background in finance. However, there are also notable red flags that deserve attention. Firstly, there is a concern about the picture used in his LinkedIn profile, which, similar to Alexander’s, appears to have been clearly generated or enhanced by AI.
The image is also a stock photo available on numerous Google sites. This discovery raises concerns about the authenticity and transparency of the information presented in Suman Bannerjee’s profile.
The Technology Director
Richard Gerber is allegedly the Technology Director of Hedonova. However, the photo displayed on his LinkedIn profile is that of a former McKinsey & Company employee, which was used in a company article. It’s worth noting that Richard Gerber does not have any experience with McKinsey & Company, as indicated on his LinkedIn profile.
User reviews
The Trustpilot page of Hedonova highlights a warning about the removed reviews, which the platform detected as fake. This is a clear red flag, suggesting that it could be an indication of review manipulation with an obscure purpose.
Products and markets
Hedonova invests in alternative asset classes. With this approach, Hedonova believes it has greater adaptability, actively works towards risk mitigation, and offers the potential for superior returns in dynamic markets compared to more established ones.
Hedonova manages to invest in 10 different alternative asset classes, including real estate worldwide, art, music royalty, agronomy and more. Becoming an expert and profitable in one of these areas is already challenging, which makes us question how Hedonova has managed to have the expertise to invest profitably in all these different asset classes.
Fund Performance
Hedonova claimed an annualized return of 48.52% (as of 14/11/2024) since its inception in 2020, including a gross return of around 118% in 2021 and about 17.32% in 2020. Treat these figures with great caution: according to the SEC, the fund did not substantiate its claimed returns despite subpoenas and requests, and we couldn’t find any independent confirmation of the track record.
Fees
Hedonova advertised two fees: a 1% management fee calculated on the total investment amount, and a 10% performance fee on profits generated through the fund and the investor’s invested capital.
| Fee Structure | |
| Minimum Deposit | $10,000 |
| Management Fee | 1% (of capital invested) |
| Performance Fee | 10% (of profits) |
| Exit Fees | $0 |
On paper, this was lower than the traditional hedge fund model of a 2% management fee and a 20% performance fee. However, low fees mean little when the existence of the investments and returns can’t be verified.
Bottom line
Hedonova is being sued by the SEC for fraud, has been barred by a US court from taking money from US investors and has paid a penalty to California’s financial regulator. On top of that, we found serious warning signs about the authenticity of its management team, its investments and its online reviews.
Its claimed returns were never independently verified, and its website has been suspended. We do not recommend investing with Hedonova. If you are looking for alternative investments, choose providers that are regulated, publish audited accounts and let you verify where your money is held.
