A Paddy On The Back For RICE Founders

In a show of gratitude for their success in the region, Asian hedge funds have joined together to form a charity known as Returns Invested in Children and Education. “It’s a genuine realization by many people that we’re very lucky to be in the industry,” Michael Nock of Hong Kong-based Doric Capital Corp. told Bloomberg News. Asian hedge funds have been soaring this year, up 16.76% through April, according to the HFRI Emerging Markets Asia Index, with assets under management in the region skyrocketing from $14 billion to $115 billion in the past three years. “There’s an innate need to give back when you are living in a region where there’s so much need,” Kate Colchester of Eurekahedge said in a Bloomberg interview. RICE intends to raise money from other deep-pocket professionals at private equity funds, investment banks, prime brokerages, among others, to rebuild schools damaged by the December 2004 earthquake-caused tsunami and help fund micro-financing projects for women.