International Herald Tribune – European hedge- fund managers are starting more funds and raising more money than ever before, getting past the troubles of early 2005, according to EuroHedge magazine.
European fund managers started a record 330 new funds in 2005, almost a third more than the 250 new funds started in 2004, the magazine, based in London, said Thursday. Assets raised in the new funds increased 22 percent, to $27.8 billion, from $22.8 billion.
The record represents a rebound for the industry, which stumbled in the first half of 2005 after credit-rating downgrades at automakers like General Motors and Ford hurt fund performance.
Returns improved in the second half, which helped the funds climb an average of 9.2 percent in 2005, double the gain of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, according to data compiled by Hedge Fund Research.
Hedge funds are aimed at investors with at least $1 million to invest, and take larger bets than traditional funds. The industry worldwide has about $1 trillion in assets.
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