The numerical rankings of top five hedge fund firms in Europe in 2015 didn’t change much from the year before, but those numbers mask big changes at the individual firms. No. 1-ranked Winton Capital Management grew firm-wide hedge fund assets by nearly 22 percent, while assets at No. 5-ranked Marshall Wace grew a remarkable 24 percent. Meanwhile, assets at macro hedge fund giant Brevan Howard fell by 12 percent. Many of the firms that posted big asset gains in 2015 have posted poor performance in 2016, owing to market volatility following the controversial Brexit vote in June, so the makeup of next year’s list may look quite different. All told, Europe’s biggest hedge funds managed a combined $393 billion at the start of 2015, up from $374 billion the year before.
In the 2016 Europe Hedge Fund 50, we provide each manager's total assets under management as of January 1, 2016, unless otherwise indicated. Where possible, we also show assets at the individual fund level and net returns for two years and since inception. The ranking last year was based on capital as of January 1, 2015, unless otherwise noted. Asset totals reflect internally run, single-manager hedge funds and separate accounts, including long-only funds that charge hedge-fund-style fees; they exclude funds of hedge funds, overlay accounts, funds managed by third parties, mutual funds and traditional long-only money, dynamic money market funds, assets in collateralized debt and bond obligations, private equity and venture capital. When assets were provided in currencies other than dollars, they were converted using the exchange rate on the date of valuation. We gathered data through questionnaires completed by hedge fund managers, supplemented by extensive staff research. Senior Editor Jane B. Kenney compiled the ranking with the assistance of Senior Contributing Writer Stephen Taub. To request a questionnaire for next year's Europe Hedge Fund 50 ranking, please e-mail your contact details to hedgefundrankings@iimagazine.com.