European Launches Are Fewer, But Bigger

New European hedge funds are twice as large, on average, as they were last year, according to new figures from EuroHedge.

The average size of European offshore hedge funds launched during the first half was US$116 million. That's almost twice the average of US$65 million from the first half of last year and exceeds the record of US$102 million from the first half of 2008.

All told, the total number of new launches dropped to 45 from 58 in the year-earlier period, but the smaller number raised US$5.2 billion, 40% more than the larger number did in the first half of 2010. Thirteen of the 45 raised at least US$100 million.

"Investors are increasingly keen to back proven managers at a time of change and opportunity throughout the financial industry," EuroHedge's Nick Evans said. "There have been many high-quality launches this year, often starting with significant seed investment from some very savvy investors, and the pipeline looks strong for some big new launches in the second half."