The trend in new fund launches in 2009 suggests a sense of fragile recovery for the Asia-Pacific hedge fund industry. This follows the debacle of the second half of 2008 when the Credit Crunch was at its deepest and the number of funds launched and, worse, the amount of capital they raised, slumped alarmingly.
Using provisional figures based on confirmed launches so far, the AsiaHedge new funds survey found that nearly 80 funds launched in 2009, almost 40 in each half, in contrast to just 25 that came to the market in the second half of 2008. In terms of assets, over $1.4 billion was raised by funds launched in the...