Hedgeweek reports: The combined assets of the global hedge fund industry grew by just under 4 per cent in the last quarter of 2007 to an estimated USD2.79trn, but net new allocations fell to their lowest level since the end of 2005, according to a supplement to the 2008 Hedge Fund Asset Flows & Trends Report published by HedgeFund.net and Institutional Investor News.
The report says the fourth quarter increase in assets of 3.98 per cent represented a decline in the level of growth from 9.82 per cent in the final quarter of 2006. Performance accounted for USD68.06bn of this year's fourth quarter increase in assets, while new allocations of USD42.80bn were slightly offset by an estimated USD4.16bn in liquidations.
The net additional allocation of USD38.64bn was the smallest since the fourth quarter of 2005. Hedge funds attracted USD365bn in new assets throughout 2007, down from USD410.56bn the previous year. Excluding performance gains, the industry grew by 16.95 per cent last year, compared with 26.81 per cent in 2006.
felix@oshedge.com