West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Swiss alternative investment company ALTIN AG has said it intends to maintain its share price by buying back between 5% and 10% of its own shares, its Board of Directors has also approved a capital reduction program. ALTIN’s hedge fund’s management performance was predictably negative (-29.20%) in 2008, yet considerably higher than key stock market indices.

2008 proved a particularly harsh year for the financial markets, compounded by additional difficulties specific to the hedge fund industry. The severe credit crisis often forced hedge funds to fire-sell positions.

In addition, the increased correlation between hedge funds and equity markets did not protect them against falling stock markets. In performance terms, the year 2008 has thus been negative for hedge funds and ALTIN proved no exception with a -29.20% fall in its net asset value. However, in light of the losses incurred by world stock markets over the same period, this result is acceptable and hedge funds remain the best performing asset class over the medium term.

Invested in approximately 40 hedge funds, the company has chosen to avoid illiquid strategies that have caused the closing of a number of hedge funds, ALTIN’s manager has been favouring liquidity since 2007.

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FT Alphaville- New figures from Singapore’s central bank bear out the (abundant) anecdotal evidence of the quickening exodus of Asia-focused hedge funds out of Japan and elsewhere and into Singapore.

Reuters reports that assets managed by fund managers in Singapore grew 32 per cent to S$1,173bn ($862bn) last year, driven by a doubling in assets held by hedge funds.

Assets managed by hedge fund managers in Singapore doubled to close to S$80bn in the year, while the number of hedge fund firms in Singapore increased by more than 50 per cent to almost 300, according to the island state’s Monetary Authority. Meanwhile institutional investors such as pension funds, endowments, foundations, companies and financial institutions accounted for 43 per cent of the funds.

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