This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Find out more here.  
  • Delicious




Hedge Funds Industry Reaches $1 Trillion Mark, Says Survey

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

12 May 2004

Underlining the stellar growth in the alternative investment fund industry over the past eighteen months, total assets under administration in hedge funds broke through the $1 trillion mark this month, Alternative Fund Services Review has reported.

According to the bi-monthly industry magazine’s administrator survey, assets rose to $1.16 trillion by the first week of May, up from around $800 billion in September 2003, and significantly higher than the current received industry estimate of $700 billion of assets under management.

Whilst AFSR noted that the participation of nine new firms in the survey has helped to boost the figures, it also reported that existing administrators witnessed a mean growth in assets under management of 32% since the 2003 survey.

The survey’s analysis of the geographical spread of hedge funds in terms of domicile shows that the industry continues to favour offshore jurisdictions, with the Cayman Islands the clear leader at 42%, followed by Bermuda with 11%, Luxembourg with 10% and the British Virgin Islands with 6%.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK offshore dependent territories and the UK itself, were all reported to have a “negligible” hedge fund domicile presence. However, AFSR noted that Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man in particular have the potential to substantially increase their share of fund domiciliation after recently passing hedge fund-friendly regulations.

In terms of the physical location of hedge fund assets and the location of actual hedge fund managers, the US continues to dominate, playing host to well over half of the survey’s managers (56%) and just under half of fund assets (49%), although Europe is cathing up, accounting for 40% of assets and 38% of managers, according to the survey.

Asia’s impact on the hedge fund world, although growing, remains surprisingly small, managing 9% of the survey’s assets, and hosting 3% of hedge fund managers.

.

 

 






Write a comment