Investors are once again strongly turning towards hedge funds, which had experienced significant withdrawal from investors over the past five years. The net investment in these funds during the first half of this year reached approximately $18.4 billion, according to data from HFR, which tracks hedge fund data. This influx followed withdrawals of over $170 billion from hedge funds in the past five years.
As a result, assets under management at hedge funds have risen to a record level of $4 trillion this year. This rush from investors was supported by the profits generated by these funds, as returns across all investment strategies increased by around double digits (over 10%), according to Mark Anson, CEO of Commonfund, which invests on behalf of charities and institutions.
While it is not expected that funds will return to their peaks achieved in the 1990s, he states that these days represent the "silver age" for this type of fund, according to the Financial Times. Opinions vary regarding the performance of these funds in the second half of the year, with some expecting investment opportunities to continue amid economic uncertainty, while others believe it is time to exercise caution due to potential tightening of monetary policies in China and the United States.
Hedge fund heads plan to increase their holdings in cryptocurrencies, anticipating that an average of 7.2% of their assets under management will be held in digital tokens by 2026. This would amount to approximately $313 billion in cryptocurrency holdings based on future size estimates for hedge funds.
