As regulators in developed markets step up oversight of hedge funds, these free pools of capital are increasingly set to make their home in Singapore and Hong Kong.
That will accelerate the flow of talent and foreign funds into Asia's top two financial centers, at a time when asset managers are already eyeing the region's rising wealth and strong economic growth.
Hedge funds didn't cause the credit crunch but they make convenient scapegoats for politicians who can't sell their electorates on lower living standards. I'm no fan of most hedge funds' business propositions, nor do I think they add liquidity to markets. This news merely illustrates the gradual eastward shift in civilization's center of gravity. The 21st Century belongs to Asia and to a lesser extent the global South.
I haven't been to Hong Kong since 2001. I remember that about one third of the cars on the road were luxury cars - Lexus, Jaguar, and the like. Those Hong Kong roads are going to get a bit more crowded. Hedge fund managers don't take the subway.
