Asia hedge funds surge in Q1

Asia-focused hedge funds kicked off 2024 with a strong performance, capitalising on several key trends during the first quarter, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

A resurgent Japanese stock market, tentative recovery in China, and a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) stocks fueled the hedged funds.

Most Asian markets, from Japan and India to mainland China, saw positive first quarters fueled by global optimism surrounding potential US interest rate cuts.

Eurekahedge data reveals a 2.9 per cent increase for Asia-focused hedge funds employing long/short strategies on Asian equities.

These strategies involve a combination of buying and selling stocks. Funds take long positions on stocks expected to rise and short positions on those anticipated to decline by borrowing and selling shares they don’t own.

The data indicates that Asia-focused multi-strategy hedge funds, investing across various asset classes like equities and commodities, delivered a 3.7 per cent return in the first quarter.

Panview Asian Equity Fund, managed by Ryan Thall, witnessed a 15.5 per cent jump, pushing its assets under management past $1 billion.

The Nikkei share index reached record highs last month and surged 21 per cent in Q1 alone. This reflects growing confidence in Japan’s economic recovery from deflation and corporate governance improvements.

Eurekahedge data confirms a five per cent gain for Japan-focused equity hedge funds during the same period.