Nick Evans, editor, EuroHedge
In most respects, 2011 was a disappointing year for European hedge funds – and one that makes it all the more pressing that managers do not just deliver a good year for investors in 2012, but a very good one.
Performance was generally lacklustre in 2011 – albeit in the face of very tricky and turbulent macro-driven and politics-dominated markets – and very much less good than investors had been expecting at the outset of the year.
Although there were many notable performers in a year that turned increasingly treacherous, there were also many poor performances. More than a few managers (including some top names) underperformed the markets by a substantial margin, with several well-known firms delivering big drawdowns in a year when conditions – although unquestionably challenging – were frankly nowhere near as bad as in 2008.
Overall asset growth in the industry was also weaker than might have been...