"Everything that rises must converge," observed the famous but unorthodox Catholic philosopher, Teilhard de Chardin.

He was speaking of the tendency of all things to be drawn into a common field...and then to quickly become part of the universal mind.

Although there were no hedge funds around when he wrote, Teilhard might have been talking about them. For, now we have news that one of these secret and speculative private groups is planning to go public. You, too, can now own a piece of hedge fund action.

The New York Times tells us that the Fortress Investment Group is planning to let down its drawbridge...and go public this fall. Billing itself as a "global alternative investment and asset management firm," the atypical fund, which manages $24.3 billion and has 500 employees, is going to go public not just with the funds it manages but, in a radical move, with its own business. That would allow investors to buy into its huge investment advisory fees as well as its incentive compensation - the heart and nerves of the hedge fund industry.

We doubt if Teilhard would call hedge funds good, but there's no denying that this is convergence in a big way. What was once the game of a select and sophisticated group of wealthy investors has turned into a goody for the lumpen investing public to bumble around with. Like every other new financial innovation...or fad...or gimmick, the once marginal strategy of hedging will be taken up and passed around like a fifth of bourbon at a dipsomaniac's convention.

But our concern, as always, is not just with the follies and foibles of the financial monde...but with the bigger picture. What does it mean when hedge funds - quintessentially private groups - go public?

It means, we think, that the hedge fund industry is struggling. It means that the profits are harder to find...or can be found only at the margins
- at the extremes. It means that hedge funds are cash strapped and hungry for money. It means that hedge funds are not doing so well anymore. Are we right?

Hedge fund industry expert, Priya Jestin, writes:

"With the year 2005 already behind us, experts have finished tabulating how they [hedge funds] fared over all in the year. One clear-cut feature of the year was that the returns were abysmally low. The year recorded an average return rate of less than 7%."

And experts believe that 2006 will end as badly....

Less than 7% from a hedge fund? With some money market funds now offering 5%, that can't be good news for the business. What happens when the weaker funds begin to fold?

Only time will tell, but we venture to guess - nothing good.

And now comes further confirmation that hedge funds are not the only ones cash-strapped in America. The Arizona Republic illustrates what we announce daily in these pages - Americans are among the most cash-starved people on earth.

"In a new survey, Americans report being the second-most 'cash-strapped' nation, trailing only residents of Portugal.

"In all, the Internet survey by ACNielsen elicited responses from more than 21,000 people in 40 countries, mainly in Europe, Asia and North America. About 22 percent of Americans say they have no spare cash after covering basic living expenses vs. 23 percent of Portuguese and 13 percent of people overall, the global average. The Dutch and British tied for third place, with 17 percent of respondents claiming to be cash-strapped. Canadians, French and Turks were next at 16 percent."

But does this worry the average American? We turn to a recent piece by financial columnist, Robert Kiyosaki:

"Most Americans live in la-la land. They're clueless about what's going on in the world of money, and still think we're the richest country in the world. In reality, we're the biggest debtor nation there is.

"Most Americans also still think our government will protect them. The world is changing at an alarming rate, yet most people here waddle stubbornly through the crosswalk, so to speak, still believing that this country has the right of way and that our political institutions are still sound...

"In the next five years, the United States and the world will go through some of the most financially disturbing times in the history of the world. Once again, the rich will become very, very, rich, and the unsuspecting will be left like the passengers on the S.S. Titanic, heading straight for an economic iceberg."

Bill Bonner is the President of Agora Publishing.  For more on Bill Bonner, visit The Daily Reckoning.