Asia hedge fund shuts as US investors exit

New Silk Road was early China investor

- DAVID RAMLI

One of Singapore's longest-running hedge funds, New Silk Road Investment Pte, 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 $615 million as of December, from almost $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 Yik Luen Hoong. All remaining capital will be returned to investors and the vehicles shuttered, he added in an email.