Business Times – Hedge funds that buy and short-sell stocks are over-represented in Asia and new players that can offer more sophisticated strategies will find the best opportunities, industryexperts said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Potential growth areas include merger arbitrage funds, with the US and European merger and acquisitions boom seen heralding a similar wave in Asia.<\/p>\n
“When we look around Asia at the merger and equity event strategies, it’s a very exciting time … if you look at Japan there’s a lot of corporate activity,” George Long, chief investment officer with hedge fund firm LIM Advisors, told an industry conference here.<\/p>\n
“Other trends that will favour corporate activity – there’s a lot of private equity money that has been raised around the world, including Asia. That will go somewhere, including privatisations,” said Long, whose firm manages about US$600 million (US$1 = RM3.69).<\/p>\n
Research firm Eurekahedge has said that at the end of 2005 there were 720 hedge funds investing in Asia, with about US$100 billion in assets under management, Asia makes up just a small part ofthe roughly US$1.1 trillion in hedge fund assets worldwide.<\/p>\n