London still dominates EU hedge space
LONDON still plays host to the top 15 hedge fund companies in Europe despite the massive losses and client withdrawals seen in the vehicles over the last year.
The total assets managed by Europe’s top 50 hedge fund groups have plummeted by 30 per cent over the last year from £225bn to £178bn, according to New York-based Alpha magazine.
Europe’s largest hedge fund manager is Brevan Howard Asset Management, based on Baker Street, which put in stellar growth last year of 27.8 per cent on its funds under management to $26.8bn (£16.7bn).
City-based Man Investments is now Europe’s second-largest hedge fund group after it rose two places in the league table to $24.4bn (£15.2bn) under management.
And Barclays Global Investors (BGI), the asset management arm of Barclays currently up for sale as the lender seeks to raise cash, is still Europe’s third largest despite the fact it saw assets dive by 35.1 per cent to $17bn (£10.6bn).
The other notable credit crunch victim over the last year was GLG Partners, which was a close second to first-placed BGI in 2008 but has now seen its assets tumbled by 51.9 per cent to $11.5bn (£7.2bn).
Only Paris-based hedge fund Dexia Asset Management and Swedish firm Brummer & Partners stand in the way of London comprising the entire top 20 hedge fund groups in the continent.