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In association with Hedge Fund Intelligence |
Asia-Pacific funds still account for just 7% of global total, writes Neil Wilson.
The growth of Asia – and particularly of China and India – continues to be a big factor driving world markets. So, not surprisingly, the growth rate of hedge funds in the region is also gathering pace. As we have argued before in this column, there are lots of good managers in the Asia-Pacific region, and investors increasingly seem to be finding them.
Yet all of this is not so immediately apparent from the regional statistics on hedge fund assets. According to our regular cycle of six-monthly surveys in AsiaHedge, asset growth in Asia-Pacific hedge funds has continued to be robust over the past 18 months – with the aggregate rising from about $130 billion in mid-2006 to $147 billion by year-end, and again to $167 billion by mid-2007.
These numbers are impressive, but they do not indicate any increase in the overall proportion of global hedge fund assets. Given the dramatic growth that has also continued in Europe and the US – taking global hedge fund assets to about $2.48