The latest AsiaHedge new funds survey throws open a huge surprise: despite excruciating markets, a scarcity of capital and shrinking overall industry assets, new launches in Asia raised as much as $4.43 billion in 2011 – the highest figure to be recorded since the industry peak in 2007 when new funds attracted a record $7.8 billion. The $4.43 billion in 2011 figure is also a 13% increase on the 2010 figure of $3.85 billion.
The second half of 2011 saw 30 new funds (as recorded by AsiaHedge) harvest $1.34 billion in capital, again a 22% increase over the 2H2010 assets of $1.1 billion raised via an almost equal number of funds (26 funds).
This, coming at a time when the industry is grappling with widespread closures, high entry barriers, flattish performance and serious capital retention issues, might raise a few questions. The answer, however, is...