AUSTRALIA’S HEDGE FUND SECTOR SET TO PASS A$100 BILLION

Sydney – 7 September 2015: Treasury reforms, financial innovation and growing demand is driving interest in Australia’s hedge fund industry, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund industry association.

Currently managing A$96.9 billion (US$67 billion) in assets, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), this renewed interest is set to drive Australia’s hedge fund industry through the A$100 billion mark, and continue strong growth that saw assets managed by hedge funds increase more than 45% from 2012 to 2014. ASIC data also showed that in 2014, Australia’s largest hedge funds reported average returns of 15.6%, low leverage levels and adequate liquidity.[1]

“We’re at an inflection point where subdued equity and debt markets are setting an extremely positive backdrop for hedge funds to become the fastest growing segment of the Australian investment management market,” Paul Chadwick, AIMA Australia Chairman, said.

“With innovative strategies coming to market, from alternative beta to strategies that target the capital lending functions once dominated by banks, we expect the number and types of hedge fund strategies to grow significantly.”

Mr Chadwick’s positive sentiment is likely to be echoed at the 2015 AIMA Australia Hedge Fund Forum next week featuring international and local leaders, including global industry icons Steve Kuhn, Partner & Co-Chief Investment Officer of Pine River Capital Management of the US, and Sandy Rattray, CEO of Man AHL from London.

Jack Inglis, CEO of AIMA, also brings to the 2015 AIMA Australia Hedge Fund Forum a global perspective on how hedge fund sectors are evolving around the world.

“Australia is growing strongly, with local AIMA membership having grown over 25% in the last 18 months. This reflects the region’s depth of hedge fund talent, tenacity and investor engagement,” Mr Inglis said.

“Since Australia’s Investment Manager Regime (IMR) was legislated earlier this year, we understand that a number of hedge fund management firms based internationally have been considering establishing operations in Australia. The certainty and clarity provided by IMR allows commercial considerations to be explored more fully, which is enormously encouraging for industry growth.

“We look forward to representing an increasingly diverse, dynamic and thriving hedge fund community in Australia and to working with regulators and industry leaders to ensure this community can achieve its full potential for investors.”

Key topics to be discussed at the 2015 AIMA Australia Hedge Fund Forum are the rise and implications of alternative beta and big data, the future of hedge fund research, the prospects for alpha generation and the outlook for CTAs.

[1] Data sourced from ASIC REPORT 370 The Australian hedge funds sector and systemic risk, September 2013 and ASIC REPORT 439 Snapshot of the Australian hedge funds sector July 2015

Ends

Notes to editors

Investment Manager Regime (IMR)

The IMR is part of Australia’s taxation legislation and sets out circumstances in which non-residents investing in Australian financial instruments will not be subject to tax in Australia. The IMR is similar to equivalent regimes in the UK and other international investment management centres. It was passed by the Australian Senate on 19 June 2015.

The AIMA Australia Hedge Fund Forum

The AIMA Australia Hedge Fund Forum is the official annual industry event for hedge fund managers, investors and influencers to exchange viewpoints and experiences that foster industry best practice and growth. The not-for-profit forum, created for the industry by the industry, will bring candid insights into the realities of running and investing in hedge funds in Australia and internationally, and focus on how Australia can evolve into a world-class alternatives hub. The Forum will be held on Tuesday 15 September 2015 at the Sofitel Wentworth, in Sydney. To view the agenda, visit: http://apac.aima.org/en/apac/events/aima-apac-events/aima-australia-hedge-fund-forum-2015/agenda.cfm

About Jack Inglis, Chief Executive Officer, AIMA (London based)

Jack Inglis became the chief Executive Officer of AIMA in February 2014. He has been involved with hedge funds for 25 years and has held leadership positions in prime brokerage at both Morgan Stanley, where he served for 16 years, and Barclays, where he was prior to joining AIMA. From 2007 to 2010 he was CEO at the convertible bond specialist, Ferox Capital Management. He began his career in 1983 and has extensive experience across origination, distribution and trading across the capital markets. He holds a Master of Arts in Economics from Cambridge University.

About AIMA

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) is the global hedge fund industry association, with over 1,500 corporate members (and over 8,000 individual contacts) in over 50 countries. Members include hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting firms, investors, fund administrators and independent fund directors. AIMA’s manager members collectively manage more than $1.5 trillion in assets. All AIMA members benefit from AIMA’s active influence in policy development, its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals, and its excellent reputation with regulators worldwide. AIMA is a dynamic organisation that reflects its members’ interests and provides them with a vibrant global network. AIMA is committed to developing industry skills and education standards and is a co-founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation (CAIA) – the industry’s first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. For further information, please visit AIMA’s website, www.aima.org.

Media enquiries

For media enquiries in Australia, please contact Emma Cullen-Ward on +61 (0)2 8915 9900 or mobile +61 (0)414 989 137. Limited media places are available at the Forum, please register your interest, emma@oneprofile.com.au.

For media enquiries globally, please contact Dominic Tonner at +44 20 7822 8380 or dtonner@aima.org.