Hedge funds head towards pre-crisis levels
(Business week): Global hedge fund assets may return to the pre-financial crisis peak of almost $2 trillion by year- end, boosted by investment profits and capital inflows, according to a Credit Suisse Group AG survey of investors. Industry assets may grow 25 percent from the $1.6 trillion at the end of 2009, according to the annual survey published today. The Zurich-based lender polled about 600 institutional investors worldwide with about $1 trillion of hedge fund assets between them, or above 60 percent of the industry total. Hedge funds posted the strongest annual return in a decade last year, helping to reverse capital outflows in the second half of 2009.
Assets are expected to expand even as investors take more time to make allocation decisions, demand more transparency and cut the number of holdings, the survey found. Asia-Pacific will likely be the biggest beneficiary among all geographies, with 61 percent of investors indicating they are increasing or considering raising their allocations to managers focused on the region, the survey said.
Category: Business
