Overview of 2010 Key Trends in Latin American Hedge Funds Eurekahedge
Mar 2011
Introduction
The Latin American hedge fund sector is one of the fast growing segments of the global hedge fund industry. Over the last decade, the total number of hedge funds in the region has increased four-fold while the assets under management has grown by nearly 25 times. Currently, the size of the Latin American hedge fund industry stands at US$60 billion.
Industry assets witnessed incremental growth in the 2004–2007 period, registering a three-fold increase over these three years. This tremendous growth was underscored by the performance of the Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index, which gained 103.23% over the period. The industry witnessed a downturn during the credit crunch and the subsequent financial crisis; however, managers delivered admirable downturn protection throughout this period with an average loss of only 4.93% at a time when the average global hedge fund was down 10.78%. Assets under management fell to US$39.3 billion by March 2009 before posting a strong recovery in the last three quarters of 2009.
