European Hedge Funds Industry: An Overview

Abstract

To shed more light on the hedge fund industry, we examine the characteristics and performance of European hedge funds that invest exclusively in Europe. Our sample of 1,905 hedge funds reveals that 85.42% of the management companies are based in Europe, with a particular dominance in the United Kingdom. Assets under management have grown significantly over the past decade, in spite of international financial and European sovereign debt crises. In addition, we find that, of the hedge funds that use leverage, 52% follow a Long/Short Equities strategy. Overall, European hedge funds investing exclusively in Europe seem to perform better than North American hedge funds, and are becoming strong competitors to North American funds.