New York still dominates the hedge fund industry but London is beginning to snap at the heels of its rival.
Hedge funds were, of course, an American invention but – despite what was widely seen as a crackdown last year – the less prescriptive style of “risk based” UK regulation is increasingly helping Britain’s capital to bridge the gap.
One only needs to take a drink in one of more exclusive bars in Mayfair after a look around the district’s luxuriously appointed office space to see that these are boom times for the industry.
According to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), Europe accounts for around 20 per cent of the $1.5 trillion hedge fund industry, and the UK has four- fifths of that. London is also now growing faster than its transatlantic rival. “London has been growing faster than New York for some time now,” said Florence Lombard, executive director at AIMA. “We believe this is because it is a professional and efficiently regulated environment that both managers and investors are comfortable with.”
