Fewer than one in 10 institutional investors has invested in Ucits-compliant hedge funds, but 35% could within 12 months, in what could prove a major boost for the US$35bn regulated long/short sector, research by Preqin revealed.

Sovereign wealth fund assets increased an estimated 9% to an aggregate $3.51 trillion in 2009, partly the result of the global economic recovery, according to a Preqin report.

Sovereign wealth funds’ total combined assets have climbed 9 percent from a year ago to $3.51 trillion, Preqin Ltd. said in an e-mailed press release. Asia controls about 40 percent of the global sovereign wealth fund assets, the London-based research firm said in a statement yesterday.

The strong rebound in global markets in the past year helped sovereign-wealth funds recoup some of the losses they suffered during the financial crisis, according to a study released Wednesday.

The aggregate total assets of all sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) continued to increase over the past year with more investment focus turning towards alternative asset classes, said a study released yesterday.

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.

Nothing gets in the way of growth of sovereign wealth funds, not even deficits in sponsor countries.

Just 8% of European institutional investors have invested in EU-regulated onshore hedge funds set up as Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities format, according to the results of a Preqin survey released today.

Buyout funds sitting on half a trillion dollars committed by investors may need more than a decade to put the money to work if deals continue at the current pace.

Around one in two sovereign wealth funds invest in private equity, real estate and infrastructure assets to seek a diversified source of returns, a report showed on Wednesday.

Over a third (37%) of the world’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) invest in hedge funds.

Total assets under management by sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) grew to US$3.5trn over the past year in the wake of a recovery in global equities markets, a report by Preqin revealed.

Placement agents have had a tough year. The financial middlemen, who help fund managers win business from investors, have been barred from operating in New York amid an investigation into an alleged kickback scheme involving state pension funds. California, Florida and other states have toughened disclosure requirements, and US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed a nationwide ban.

UK-based SilverStreet Capital has launched a rare agriculture fund focused on South Africa in a bid to capitalise on a rising demand for food and the cheap cost of land in the country.

Almost two years on from the launch of a fund aimed at infrastructure investments, New York-based private equity firm KKR has so far failed to announced any major investors, nor has it made any significant acquisitions.

KKR & Co. set high expectations in 2008 when it formed a group to invest in toll roads, ports and pipelines. It aimed to raise as much as $4 billion and hired George Bilicic, the Lazard Ltd. banker on the firm’s record buyout of power producer TXU Corp., to lead the effort.

Investors with cash to deploy are calling the shots for private equity and hedge funds desperate to win back business, and only some of the top firms are now able to dictate terms again.

Fund managers have grown increasingly conscious about demand for higher levels of transparency from their clients, but a consensus is yet to be build on the degree, fund managers told Emirates Business.

Private-equity firms tell investors that the years following recessions offer the best opportunity to make money. This time may be different.