Based on the information contained in the 2006 edition of the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Directory1 and other related information, we currently estimate the total size of the North American hedge fund space at over 4,000 funds managing close to US$840 billion in assets. Operating in the world’s most advanced financial markets, these funds account for over three-fifths of the total assets parked in hedge funds globally. Historically too, the North American hedge fund universe has been sizeable (Figure 1); to put it in context, their size in 1997 is comparable to the current size of the Asian hedge fund space. However, the huge influx of money into hedge funds in the region meant a squeezing out of opportunities for significant absolute returns and the pace of growth of the industry has slackened in recent years, flowing into other regions, emerging or otherwise. The industry has witnessed an annualised asset growth rate of about 40% over the past decade. Contrast this with European hedge funds whose assets grew at the rate of 72% annually during the same period. Keeping these trends in mind, we estimate industry assets to reach US$870 billion by end-2006.
