Before You Invest Your Money

JPMorgan was the richest hedge fund manager working in the industry at the close of 2009, a new report has shown.

Figures from Pensions & Investment revealed that the financial services provider managed a total of $53.5 billion of hedge fund assets.

By the end of 2009, JPMorgan Asset Management had $32.5 billion in assets while Highbridge Capital Management looked after $21 billion worth of funds.

The total was 18.9 per cent higher than the figure in its portfolio at the end of 2007, the survey revealed.

Bridgewate Associates was ranked second in the list with $43.6 billion while third placed Paulson & Co managed $32 billion.

Further findings from the study revealed that the total assets managed by the 11 companies quizzed stood at $316.2 billion, almost the same as the $316 billion in assets seen across portfolios at the end of 2007.

Alex Ehrlich, head of Morgan Stanley’s prime brokerage business, recently told the Reuters Private Equity and Hedge Funds Summit in New York that the number of hedge funds being launched is on the rise.

“We are seeing very, very strong hedge fund formation right now. The number of launches we are seeing are five times stronger than what we saw last year.”

Meanwhile, a survey by Hedge Fund Intelligence revealed that global assets for the industry reached $1.82 trillion during the second half of 2009.