The Hedge Funds industry, which could face additional tremors following the financial turmoil in US capital markets, is looking Eastwards both for investing and for getting allocations, according to a survey conducted by Terrapinn.

Terrapinn are the organisers of Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference now in its 10th year.

It event will be held from March 10 to 12, 2009, at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai and will host some of the world’s Hedge Funds legends such as John Paulson of Paulson & Co, Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors, Ian Wace of Marshall Wace and Joseph DiMenna of Zweig DiMenna.

The survey, which was conducted amongst more than 820 institutional investors and fund managers from around the world and the Middle East, showed that more than half of  international institutional investors, or 53 per cent, are looking to allocate to Middle East-based hedge funds.

International fund managers are also actively focused on getting allocations from the region. Eight-three per cent are actively targeting family offices and 75 per cent Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs.)

“The industry is forecasting challenges ahead, and today more than ever, investors and fund managers need to be looking at risks and opportunities that the current global financial environment is presenting them with,” said managing director of Terrapinn in the Middle East Symon Rubens.

“The Hedge Funds World Middle East conference is the ideal platform for them to engage in an original and provocative dialogue about what this means to the Middle East, both from an investor’s as well as a fund manager’s point of view.”    

The survey demonstrated that even with the oil price well below previous peaks, the global transfer of wealth from West to East continues to have a significant impact on the funds controlled by Middle East investors. 

“The GCC equity markets now appear on the radar screen of every large global investor, and many of the international investors flocking to Dubai for Hedge Funds World Middle East are also on a mission to find local fund managers to help them take advantage of lower prices and build up their fledgling Middle East exposure,” added Rubens.

Local investors already hold well over $1 trillion in overseas assets, and as sophistication grows, many are now actively diversifying into alternative investments. – TradeArabia News Service