Hedge funds and structured products might be the darlings of the financial media, but a report released March 28 by Spectrem Group shows that few investors comprehend them. Only 18 percent of affluent investors—those with at least $500,000 in investable assets—said they understand hedge funds. Even fewer, 15 percent, indicated that they know how structured products work. However, the report also indicated that the lack of knowledge might not be much of a problem: A mere 9 percent said they were interested in hedge funds or structured products, and only 10 percent expressed interest in venture capital. Hedge funds were called the riskiest alternative product by 39 percent of the respondents. The report was based on interviews with 514 affluent households.