More investor eyes are trained on Asia than ever before, and the hedge funds listed on Alpha's Asia 25 ranking are enjoying the attention. The firms that appear on the Asia 25 – Alpha's list of Asia's 25 biggest hedge funds – are learning that home field does indeed provide a substantial advantage. As Asia increasingly finds itself a region of interest for investors and money managers who seek investment opportunities there, the continent's resident hedge funds are drawing upon their native roots to flourish. Together, Asia's 25 biggest hedge funds controlled $35.5 billion in assets as of March 31, 2007; that's up almost 60 percent from when Alpha last ranked Asia's top firms at the end of 2005. See which Asian firms are thriving by clicking on the Rankings link to the left.
In Alpha’s 2007 Asia 25, we provide each manager’s total assets under management as of December 31, 2006, unless otherwise indicated. Where possible we also show assets at the individual fund level, with 2006 net returns through year-end, for the five biggest funds run by a firm. Asset totals reflect internally run, single-manager hedge funds and separate accounts; they exclude fund of funds, overlay accounts, funds managed by third parties, mutual funds and traditional long-only money, dynamic money market funds, assets in collateralized debt and bond obligations, private equity and venture capital, and assets in private-equity-style vehicles that issue capital calls. We gathered the data through questionnaires completed by hedge fund managers and supplemented by extensive staff research.