London Calling: The Europe Hedge Fund 50

Europe, led by London, is a hotbed of hedge fund activity, according to Alpha magazine's newest ranking of the 50 biggest European hedge fund firms.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 27, 2007 -- Hedge funds are thriving in Europe, thanks to increased interest from pension funds and other institutions -- both European and U.S. -- and regulatory changes that have made it easier for such investors to put money in alternatives. The 50 firms in the Alpha Europe Hedge Fund 50 ranking collectively managed about $300 billion as of December 31, 2006 -- nearly 21 percent of the global hedge fund industry's then $1.46 trillion in assets.

The Alpha Europe Hedge Fund 50 has seen its asset totals soar since 2006. A year ago, no European firm managed close to $15 billion in single-manager hedge fund assets -- this year, three firms have more than that, led by Barclays Global Investors. BGI's $18.95 billion narrowly tops Man Investments, No. 2 with $18.8 billion in single-manager assets. At No. 3, with $15.83 billion in assets, is GLG Partners, led by former Goldman, Sachs & Co. partners Noam Gottesman and Pierre Lagrange.

For the first time in the four-year history of Alpha's Europe Hedge Fund 50 ranking, each of the top ten firms are headquartered in London, cementing the city's position as the hedge fund capital of Europe. To be included in this year's ranking, a firm had to have more than $2 billion in hedge fund assets. The top ten firms in Alpha's 2007 Europe Hedge Fund 50 ranking are:

Rank

2007    2006     Firm name                    Firm capital (in millions)

1    1    Barclays Global Investors (London, U.K.)         $18,953

2    2    Man Investments (London, U.K.)             $18,800

3    3    GLG Partners (London, U.K.)             $15,833

4    9    Lansdowne Partners (London, U.K.)         $14,000

5    6    Brevan Howard Asset Mgmt (London, U.K.)     $12,079

6    10    BlueCrest Capital Mgmt (London, U.K.)         $11,200

7    7    Sloane Robinson (London, U.K.)              $11,100

8    5    HSBC (London, U.K.)                 $10,946

9    12    Marshall Wace (London, U.K.)              $10,900

10    11    Gartmore Investment (London, U.K.)           $9,700

Please visit http://www.alphamagazinerankings.com for more Europe Hedge Fund 50 data and other rankings, including the Hedge Fund 100 and Hedge Fund Compensation Report

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