Reuters – UK-listed hedge fund manager RAB Capital (RAB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 50 percent gain inassets under management on Friday, estimated a 43 percent pretax profit rise for 2005 and said it was confident about prospects for this year.
The figures were in line with analysts’ expectations, but RAB’s strong growth in assets still might surprise some industry observers after the hedge fund industry turned in a poor average performance last year and several U.S. funds collapsed in high-profile scandals.
RAB’s funds averaged returns of more than 11 percent last year, compared with an industry average of 7.6 percent, according to index compiler U.S-based CSFB/Tremont.
Figures are not yet available on the industry’s overall growth in assets in 2005. Britain’s Man Group (EMG.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world’s largest listed hedge fund company, last week reported a 12 percent rise in assets in the past year to $45.8 billion.
RAB’s assets under management rose to $2.62 billion at the end of December from $1.75 billion at end-2004 and $2.26 billion at end-June.
“If you increase your assets by 50 percent, you’d expect a 50 percent increase in profits,” RAB Chief Executive Philip Richards told Reuters. “I’m not forecasting that for 2006, but it’s a reasonable working assumption.”
