Almost half of institutional investors in hedge funds are investing in or considering an allocation to Ucits hedge funds, according to research conducted by Preqin.
Of the investors surveyed, only 8% said they currently had an allocation to Ucits funds and Over a third (35%) of institutional investors surveyed, including those based outside Europe, said they were considering adding a Ucits product to their hedge fund portfolio in 2010.
Investors highlighted transparency (41%), regulatory oversight (22%), liquidity (22%) and a strong risk management framework (11%) as the main attractions of Ucits funds.
Preqin also interviewed 60 fund of funds managers about the current supply of Ucits hedge funds. Of those surveyed 28% were currently running Ucits products while a further 28% were adopting Ucits funds in their portfolios.
The survey indicated 51% of European hedge fund managers already offer Ucits products, compared to 11% of managers from the rest of the world.
Larger managers are more likely to offer Ucits, with 59% of managers with assets under management in excess of $1 billion currently running a Ucits product line.
The findings are based on a survey of 50 global institutional investors carried out by Preqin in February 2010.
To read the full results of the survey, please click here