This much is evident from The Hedge Fund Journal's research for its EUROPE50 rankings. Here we can see a class of fund managers that are either part of, or actively supported by larger financial groups, and represent those groups' presence in the hedge fund market, or are stand-alone groups that have grown to a point where they can afford to diversify their offering, taking on new portfolio managers, or implementing new trading strategies in order to scale-up their businesses. These are also firms which can continue to invest in support personnel and infrastructure, and can attract substantial institutional investors who are more likely to stick with them in years to come. These are firms that are determined to keep their relative positions as substantial asset management entitiesby supporting initiatives which will help them to expand and to diversify. Furthermore, these are firms that invest heavily in research and development to ensure they maintain their performance delivery to investors.
The leader of the pack is still the flag-bearer of the European hedge fund industry, Man Investments, with $16.2bn in assets under management (May 2006), up from $12bn in November last year. A close second is Barclays Global Investors, which has $16bn, up from $13bn, with GLG, in third at $15.5bn, up from $11.1bn.
London has been, and remains, the top hedge fund centre in Europe with around 89% of the assets of the EUROPE50 managers. It is also the historical base of highly succesful independent firms such as Brevan Howard, Cheyne and Winton Capital Management, but it is a characteristic of the on-going evolution of this unique market that the EUROPE50 rankings should feature an increasing number of funds based elsewhere in Europe, a trend that is likely to continue.
The non-UK leader, in terms of assets under management, is Madrid-based Vega Asset Management, with $6.3bn, ranked 12th overall. However, the heart of the hedge fund sector on the continent is undoubtedly Paris, home to a clutch of hedge fund managers, including Dexia with $5.8bn, BAREP (SocGen) with $1.7bn, Sinopia (part of HSBC) with $1.1bn, and Systeia (Crédit Agricole) with $1.1bn, although Systeia just failed to make the cut and sit in 51st position.
Scandinavia is also an exciting region for hedge fund developments, and has produced established players in the form of Sweden's Brummer ($5.1bn) and Finland's 3C ($530m).
Other European players include Dutch Transtrend ($3.2bn), now Cyprus-based IKOS ($2.56bn) and Italian Kairos ($1.7bn).
Volatility ensures that any single AUM figure can only be a snapshot of the size of a fund manager's assets: it gives us a highly specific valuation point that is not necessarily indicative of the ongoing fortunes of that firm. Hence, The Hedge Fund Journal has provided two sets of AUMs for each entry, one for the end of November 2005, and one for the end of May 2006. Together, they give us a certain perspective, though readers should still bear in mind that, coincidentally, both these points in time followed difficult months for the hedge fund industry as a whole.
As ever in the financial services industry, past performance is not a guarantee of future fortunes. Perhaps the biggest casualty in this respect over the period in review was KBC, with assets falling from an estimated $5bn early in 2005, to $1bn at the end of the year, causing the departure of Andy Preston.
As ever in the financial services industry, past performance is not a guarantee of future fortunes. Perhaps the biggest casualty in this respect over the period in review was KBC, with assets falling from an estimated $5bn early in 2005, to $1bn at the end of the year, causing the departure of Andy Preston.
It is still possible, even amongst the ranks of the hedge fund giants, to see businesses adversely affected by the fortunes of one fund and its manager, but the generation of CIOs now at the helms of many of the larger firms on this list seem to be heavily wedded to a high level of investment discipline and emphasis on risk management, which comes through in many of the interviews this publication has published over the past two years. It is this approach to investment management that serves to reassure institutional clients moving into this market, and helps the bigger firms to keep a close watch on the range of funds they manage.
The data provided in the EUROPE50 has been sourced where possible from the hedge fund managers themselves.
Where it has not been possible to obtain confirmation of thedata, or where a manager has declined to participate, The Hedge Fund Journal has, with two exceptions, included an estimate. The Children's Investment Fund and Egerton chose not to report their figures but estimates have been made. Centaurus Capital and Toscafund would probably have made the EUROPE50 only they chose not to report their figures and The Hedge Fund Journal decided not to include estimates. Where the May AUM figure was not available, the ranking was determined using the November figure.
Valid for inclusion in the table are the global assets of any hedge fund based in Europe, excluding funds of funds, but including US firms that maintain standalone units in Europe. For example, Citigroup's Tribeca has been listed, but not the bank's much larger hedge funds managed in the US. By contrast, Goldman Sachs, though a largely global operation, and with more than $14bn in fund assets domiciled in Dublin, has been regarded as a US operation in this respect, as all of its $39bn in single hedge fund assets is managed out of the US.
Valid for inclusion in the table are the global assets of any hedge fund based in Europe, excluding funds of funds, but including US firms that maintain standalone units in Europe. For example, Citigroup's Tribeca has been listed, but not the bank's much larger hedge funds managed in the US. By contrast, Goldman Sachs, though a largely global operation, and with more than $14bn in fund assets domiciled in Dublin, has been regarded as a US operation in this respect, as all of its $39bn in single hedge fund assets is managed out of the US.
Managers who feel they might warrant inclusion in a future EUROPE50 are encouraged to contact The Hedge Fund Journal.
We at Fimat congratulate those firms that have made the list, and look forward to seeing further evidence of their success in future surveys carried out by The Hedge Fund Journal.
| AUM 31 May 06 US$16.2bn (1) AUM 30 Nov 05 US$12.0bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| AHL | Managed futures | Harvey McGrath Stanley Fink Peter Clarke |
Comments: (1) end of June
| AUM 31 May 06 US$16.0bn (1) AUM 30 Nov 05 US$13.0bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| European Market Neutral Fund Multi-strategy Fund UK Equities Market Neutral Fund |
Equity statistical arbitrage (Europe) Global multi-strategy Equity statistical arbitrage (UK) |
Blake Grossman Stan Beckers |
Comments: (1) end of June
| AUM 31 May 06 US$15.5bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$11.1bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| GLG European Long-short Fund GLG North American Opportunity Fund GLG Emerging Markets Fund GLG Market Neutral Fund GLG Alpha SelectFund |
Market neutral equity long-short, Europe Equity long-short North America Macro style, multi-asset class mainly LatAm and Europe Multi-strategy arbitrage, global Market neutral equity long-short, UK |
Noam Gottesman Pierre Lagrange |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$11.3bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$7.7bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Lansdowne European Equity Fund Ltd Lansdowne UK Equity Fund Ltd Lansdowne Global Financials Fund Ltd Lansdowne Macro Fund Ltd Lansdowne Long Only Fund Ltd |
Long/short equity Long/short equity Long/short equity Asset allocation, equity theme and sector positions Long equity with leverage |
Paul Ruddock Steve Heinz |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$11.12bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$8.0bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| BlueCrest Capital International Fund BlueCrest Strategic Blue Trend BlueCrest Equity Emerging Markets |
Cross market arbitrage Global macro Systematic trend follower Equity long/short Global emerging markets |
Mike Platt William Reeves |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$10.48bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$8.75bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Brevan Howard Master Fund | Global macro | Alan Howard |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$9.08bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$7.1bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| SR Global Fund (A) Europe US$ SR Global Fund (B) Asia SR Global Fund (C) International SR Global Fund (F) Euro SR Global Fund (G) Emerging Markets |
Market directional equity long/short with net long bias | Hugh Sloane George Robinson |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$8.7bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$7.2bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Cheyne Special Situations Fund Cheyne Long/Short Structured Credit |
European multi-strategy Global credit |
Stuart Fiertz Jonathan Lourie |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$8.1bn (1) AUM 30 Nov 05 US$6.2bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| AlphaGen Capella AlphaGen Tucana AlphaGen Avior AlphaGen Velas AlphaGen Regulus |
European large cap equities European diversified equities UK large cap equities European equities directional European quantitative |
Jeff Meyer Paul Feeney Roger Guy Martin Phipps Guillaume Rambourg |
Comments (1) April 2006
| AUM 31 May 06 N/A AUM 30 Nov 05 US$6.5bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Declined to participate | Declined to participate | Christopher Hohn |
Comments Declined to participate
| AUM 31 May 06 US$6.46bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$6.3bn (1) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Eureka (Euro) Fund Eureka Interactive Fund Affinium Fund Marshall Wace TOPS Fund |
Equity long/short TMT equity long/short Statistical Arbitrage Fund Process-driven strategy, equity long/short |
Paul Marshall Ian Wace |
Comments (1) end of Dec 2005
| AUM 31 May 06 US$6.36bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$5.8bn Location Madrid, New York |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Global Strategy Select Strategy Relative Value Strategy |
Macro strategy Macro strategy Fixed income strategy |
Ravi Mehra Jesus Saa Requejo |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$6.29bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$3.42bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Millennium Global High Yield Fund Millennium Radar Fund Millennium Global Currency Fund Millennium Global Special Situations Americas Fund |
Event driven in high yield & distressed securities Global macro Total returns in global currencies & related markets Distressed debt/special situations closed-end fund with a 5-year life |
Michael Huttman Alan Eisner Joe Strubel Mark Astley |
| AUM 31 May 06 N/A AUM 30 Nov 05 US$5.78bn Location Paris |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Dexia Long/Short Risk Arbitrage Dexia Long/Short Double Alpha Dexia Credit Arbitrage Dexia High Yield BB Dexia Index Arbitrage |
Event driven risk arbitrage Long/short equity market neutral Credit arbitrage Opportunistic credit discretionary approach Index arbitrage |
Naïm Abou-Jaoudé Fabrice Couchet |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$5.54bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$4.09bn Location Paris |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| ADI Risk Arb Absolu ADI Convert Absolu Kallista CB Arbitrage |
Merger Arbitrage Multi-strategy Convertible arbitrage |
Erich Bonnet Christophe Bourret Nicoals Gomart Christophe Lepitre Alain Reinhold |
Comments Declined to participate. All funds closed.
| AUM 31 May 06 US$5.5bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$4.0bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Winton Futures Fund Winton Evolution Fund |
Diversified managed futures | David Harding Martin Hunt |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$5.1bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$3.78bn Location Stockholm |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Zenit Nektar Latitude Lynx Futuris |
Long/short global equity Market neutral Global macro with focus on fixed income Global futures fund (equity market indices, fixed income, currencies + commodities Long/short European equity fund with a Nordic focus |
Patrik Brummer Kent Janér Jens Berglund Jonas Bengtsson Arne Vaagen |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$4.92bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$4.2bn Location London, New York, Hong Kong |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| GAM European Equity Hedge GAM Japan Equity Hedge GAM UK Equity Hedge GAM European Small Cap Hedge GAM International Equity Hedge |
Long/short equity Europe Long/short equity Japan Long/short equity UK Long/short equity European small cap Long/short equity international |
John Bennett Lesley Kaye Ross Hollyman John Bennett/Patric Slama Sean Taylor |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$4.73bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$4.58bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| CQS Convertible and Quantitative Strategies Fund CQS Capital Structure Arbitrage Fund CQS Directional Opportunities Fund |
Convertible and equity arbitrage, market neutral Relative value credit arbitrage |
Michael Hintze Gary McConnell Mark Conway Mark Benson |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$4.7bn (1) AUM 30 Nov 05 US$4.2bn (1) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Episode | Global Macro | Tony Gaughan Dave Fishwick |
Comments (1) US$4bn in a managed account, balance external funds
| AUM 31 May 06 N/A AUM 30 Nov 05 US$4.0bn (est) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Egerton Capital European Fund Egerton European Dollar Class A Egerton European Equity |
Long/short European equity | John Armitage |
Comments Declined to participate. All funds closed.
| AUM 31 May 06 US$4.0bn AUM 30 Nov 05 N/A Location New York, London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Cantillon Europe Cantillon World |
Event driven long/short equity global | William van Mueffling Rupert Tyer |
| AUM 31 May 06 US$3.7bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$2.37bn (1) Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| Aspect Diversified Fund Aspect Master Fund Aspect Trading Fund Aspect Equity Long/Short Fund Aspect Currency Fund |
Systematic global futures trading Systematic multi-strategy Systematic global futures trading Systematic pan-European equity Systematic currency trading |
Anthony Todd Martin Lueck Michael Adam Robert Wakefield |
Comments (1) nominal figures, not cash
| AUM 31 May 06 US$3.62bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$2.62bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| RAB Special Situations Fund RAB Energy Fund RAB Europe Fund RAB Emerging Europe RAB UK Fund |
Opportunistic trading Long/short fixed income Long/short equity Long/short equity Long/short equity |
Michael Alen-Buckley Philip Richards |
Comments AUM as at 311205
| AUM 31 May 06 US$3.2bn AUM 30 Nov 05 US$2.57bn Location London |
Fund Name | Strategy/style | Founders/Principals |
| JB Diversified Fixed Income JB Global Rates JB Credit and Emerging Markets JB Convertible and High Yield |
Relative value using fixed income and FX Global macro (using fixed income and FX strategies) Corporate and Sovereign investments with FX overlay Long/short using convertible and high bonds and associated instruments |
Tim Haywood/Tom O'Shea Adrian Owens/Andrew Snowball Paul McNamara/Darren Reece Henry Hale /Greg Hopper |
Please download the pdf for the full list