Martin Currie, the Edinburgh, Scotland,-based independent, specialist investment manager, has reached capacity for its China hedge fund at USD 156 million.

The fund, managed by Chris Ruffle, has returned 33.7%  to 30 October 2003 since its launch on 6 December 2002.For reasons of liquidity in the portfolio and to maximise performance, Martin Currie said it always envisaged reaching capacity at around USD 150 million.
 
Meanwhile, total hedge fund assets managed by Martin Currie have reached USD 650 million. The company manages six long/short funds investing in Japan, Asia, China, Europe, UK and Global Resources.

Hedge fund revenues now represent a significant part of Martin Currie's annual revenues, and the firm said it is on track to meet its target of USD 1 billion under management in hedge funds by September 2005.
 
Martin Currie's Director of hedge funds, Allan MacLeod, said: "We're very pleased by the performance of Chris and his team, and by that of our hedge funds in general. Our USD 60 million Asian hedge fund, for example, is up 26.9% over the year to 30 October* and is attracting significant interest from investors. We've always said we intend to build up a significant business in hedge funds. There's still a long way to go, but reaching capacity on China so quickly is a significant milestone for us."

copyright hedgeweek 2003