In its continuing effort to support the global hedge fund industry through education and advocacy, the Hedge Fund Association (the HFA) has appointed Adam J Steinberg, a financial communications consultant in Beijing, as the new director of the association’s China chapter.

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Steinberg advises companies on communications issues that affect reputation and market valuation. He has more than eight years of experience in mainland China and most recently, worked at Hill+Knowlton Strategies in Beijing where he counseled Nasdaq-listed Chinese company Tudou Holdings, among many others. He holds an MBA from CKGSB in Beijing; CKGSB’s alumni in China include Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Mengniu’s Niu Gensheng.
 
“We are thrilled to have such an accomplished person as Adam joining the HFA as a regional director,” says Mitch Ackles, president of the HFA. “Globally, hedge funds are moving into the investment mainstream, and he will be an excellent representative of both the industry and the HFA.”
 
Ackles cited the growing importance of hedge funds invested in China as the HFA’s incentive to appoint a new director. “Beyond its economic growth, China has grown very quickly in terms of its level of investment sophistication, and hedge funds are a part of that,” says Ackles. PerTrac, a leading aggregator of hedge fund data worldwide, found 658 hedge funds reporting in China as of April, 2012, about half of which were formed since January 2010.
 
“I am honoured to join the HFA in China as regional director. Hedge funds are still very new in China and the HFA is in an excellent position to support both domestic Chinese hedge funds and global funds that have opened representative offices in China, but are still waiting for Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) licenses,” says Steinberg. 
 
The Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor program, launched in 2002, allows licensed foreign investors to buy and sell yuan-denominated "A" shares in China's mainland stock exchanges (in Shanghai and Shenzhen) that had previously been closed off to foreign investors.
 
“The HFA, as the voice of the global hedge fund industry, will be able to promote greater two-way communication, education and understanding about hedge funds,” says Steinberg.
 
With the appointment of Steinberg, the HFA now has representation in 17 regions, including 12 outside the US. The HFA also expects to announce the appointment of new directors in the UK and for overall EU operations later this year.