Financial Times – Hedge funds have more than $2,900bn under management, according to a survey of valuers of their assets, sharply up on last year in spite of the credit crunch and a series of high-profile problems in the industry.<\/p>\n
The survey of assets under administration by Hedge Fund Manager Week, a trade magazine, showed the total had jumped 20 per cent in the past year and continued to climb over the past six months even as the credit squeeze intensified.<\/p>\n
The scale of the growth – up by $230bn in the six months to April – suggests concerns about hedge fund losses and a slowdown in flows of new money into the industry may be overstated.<\/p>\n
However, the rate of growth is slowing, with the 9 per cent rise in the most recent six months well below the 17 per cent growth in the magazine’s last survey.<\/p>\n
Hedge fund administrators act as independent valuers of hedge fund assets, giving investors updates and providing regulatory, legal and accounting services.<\/p>\n
They are used by almost all European hedge funds and an increasing number of US funds, who are under pressure from investors to provide independent valuations.<\/p>\n
Valuation practices are being closely scrutinised by regulators, with hedge funds in the UK and US setting up codes of best practice this year, with a focus on how to deal with hard-to-value assets such as private equity or structured credit.<\/p>\n