More Tough Numbers For Asian Hedge Funds

The bad news for Asia’s hedge funds continues to roll in. Although not much of a surprise, given their dismal performance last year, the overwhelming majority of them won’t be collection performance fees.

More than 80% of Asian hedge funds finished below their peak net asset values last year, according to Eurekahedge. Just about one-third of the funds enjoyed a positive return, while the average fund focused on the region lost about 21%.

Some 153 Asian hedge funds didn’t survive last year’s bloodbath at all, according to Eureka, a 63% increase in fund closures from 2007. Moreover, hedge fund launches in the region fell by half in 2008, to just 79.