Hedge fund exit requests rise slightly in February

Date: Monday, February 24, 2014
Author: Jemima Kelly, Reuters

Hedge fund investors asked to pull out just slightly more money in February than they did the previous month, largely sticking with their managers to help them navigate financial markets, data showed on Friday.

The percentage of investors asking to withdraw their money from hedge funds rose slightly to 3.38 percent of assets under administration in February, up from 2.67 percent in January and in line with seasonal trends, according to the SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator.

"The 3.38 for February is very consistent with the last four or five years," Bill Stone, CEO and Chairman of financial software provider SS&C Technology, said on Friday.

The monthly data, which captures around 10 percent of the global hedge fund industry, suggest that most investors chose to keep their stakes intact despite a disappointing 2013.

Redemption requests peaked at over 19 percent in late 2008 following the collapse of Lehman Brothers but have not risen above 10 percent since September 2009.

Hedge fund assets stand at around $2.85 trillion, according to data released this week by eVestment, but Stone expects the market to surpass the $3 trillion mark by the end of the year.