Janchor Partners Pan Asian Fund started trading in January with about $40 million, mostly from US university endowments and family offices, Hong Kong-based Ho, told the news service. It returned 9.9 per cent after fees through to 30 June, against the estimated 2 per cent loss of the Eurekahedge Asia Long/Short Equities Hedge Fund Index, it said.

The inflow to Ho’s fund contrasts with the trend of new and small Asian hedge fund managers struggling to grow assets amid heightened competition for capital, the news service said.

A total of 75 new Asia-focused hedge fund firms started since 2009 with an average $16.9 million and now manage about $28.9 million each, according to data compiled by Eurekahedge Pte in Singapore.

The fund-raising climate for hedge funds has changed since the credit crisis, even though hedge funds recovered some of their ground in 2009 after being pummelled in 2008, suffering their worst-ever year for performance. As noted by this publication, there is increased demand for high liquidity and transparency. However, some hedge fund strategies which take months to execute are not easily compatible with investor demand for quick access to their money.

“The capital that’s coming into Asia is generally shorter-term, and capital constrains investment strategy,” Ho, Janchor Partners Ltd.’s chief investment officer, was quoted as saying.

“We only raise long-term capital because we want to focus on doing longer-term investing. The fees are a little lower to reflect that it’s long-term capital.”

More than 90 per cent of the money raised by Janchor is locked up for three years, said Ho.