Survey: funds are 47% equity long/short strategies

Hedge fund managers in Singapore participated in a research conducted by the Alternative Investment Management Association, the global industry trade association for the alternative investment management industry.

Singapore is home to almost 140 hedge fund managers, and at least 12 funds of funds. The single-strategy hedge funds manage US$34.9bn and employ more than 800 professionals.

Key findings:

• Singapore is home to 138 single-strategy fund managers
• The average assets under management (AUM) of single hedge funds is estimated as US$301m; in aggregate, at least US$34.9bn
• The total number of professionals employed by the 111 respondent single hedge funds is 823
• Equity long/short strategies account for 47% of funds
• The geographical source of investors for single-strategy hedge funds is as follows – 15% Americas, 54% Asia, 25% Europe, 1% Middle East, 6% others
• The source of capital by investor types is as follows – 17% funds of funds, 38% high net worth individuals, 37% institutions, 5% proprietary, and 3% others
• There are 12 funds of funds run from Singapore, advising approximately US$10bn of assets from the Republic
• All Singapore-based hedge fund managers outsource their fund administration

Michael Coleman, the Chairman of the Singapore branch of AIMA, commented: "The survey provides a clear picture of the importance of the hedge fund industry to the Singaporean financial services industry, both in terms of assets, and professional resource."

Peter Douglas, AIMA Council Member for Asia-Pacific, observed: "The proportion of Asia-sourced assets is surprising and heartening – Singaporean managers seem to have been effective in educating Asian investors about hedge funds."

GFIA, who assisted with the survey, cautioned that "The amount of money managed in Singapore is almost certainly significantly higher than US$34.9bn due to non-reporting by several of the large global firms, but the number of hedge funds, and their source of assets, is in our opinion broadly correct. The funds of funds in Singapore are generally part of global entities and allocate and report assets globally, rather than through a specific office; hence the asset size is our estimate."