New Silk Road, one of Singapore's longest-running hedge funds, to shut

Weak returns and pullback by US investors in Asia have led to a sharp drop in its assets

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One of Singapore's longest-running hedge funds, New Silk Road Investment, is shutting down after weak returns and a pullback by US investors in Asia led to a sharp drop in assets.

The firm, started by two finance veterans about 16 years ago, saw assets under management plummet to US$615 million (S$787 million) as at December 2024, from almost US$2 billion as recently as 2021.

The closing comes as smaller hedge funds face increasingly tough conditions, from turbulent markets and geopolitical strife to the popularity of giant rivals whose myriad investment pods have attracted much of the available money.

"Our traditional source of funding from the US institutions had over the last several years been less enthusiastic about liquid equity investments in Asia, in no small part due to geopolitical reasons," said co-founder Hoong Yik Luen.

All remaining capital will be returned to investors and the vehicles shuttered, he added.