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Wealth Bulletin – Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privée emerged as the largest fund of hedge funds provider, replacing UBS Global Asset Management at the top, with $56.8bn, according to the InvestHedge Billion Dollar Club.
Funds of hedge funds showed the first signs of an asset slowdown in the first half of this year, but still managed a net inflow of nearly $50bn despite turbulent markets and lacklustre returns, according to a FINalternatives report.
As per the latest survey of the InvestHedge Billion Dollar Club, funds of funds recorded an average negative return of 1.25% for the first six months of the year, and grew their overall assets by only about 4.5%, compared to 17% during the corresponding period last year.
FINalternatives- Global hedge fund assets under management increased 30% in 2007 to a record $2.25 trillion, according to a new International Financial Services report.
Most of this growth was in the first three quarters, as market turbulence in the latter part of the year resulted in a slowdown in inflow of new funds and a decline in average returns.
New York remained the leading global location for hedge fund managers, with 40% of global assets, but its share was down from 50% in 2002 as growth of the hedge fund industry in Europe and Asia outpaced growth in the U.S. This was largely a result of a rise in institutional portfolio allocation into hedge funds in these regions during this period.
FINalternatives- Godvig Capital’s Iraq-focused Babylon Fund finished May up 2.7%, bringing its year-to-date gains to 5.2%.
The fund’s portfolio included stakes in hotels, banks and breweries last month, according to portfolio manager Björn Englund, who said he has been solicited to take on board seats but has refrained from doing so.
“Our board policy stays for now, but might have to change in the future,” he said.
Last month, Englund said he continued to slowly add to the portfolio’s Iraq Stock Exchange exposure because of the “sizable inflow” into the fund, and intends to soft close the fund later this year “should assets rise faster than our target.”
