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26 Feb 2007

Hedge Funds World Conference in Dubai

The 8th annual Hedge Funds World Middle East Conference is being held at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Sponsored by Man investments, the event will play host to some of the biggest names in the alternative asset industry, reflecting growing regional demand for these products.

Some of the key topics include; New business in emerging markets, such as Asia, India and Latin America, the future of hedge funds and manager selection, fund selection and best practice portfolio construction.

The event provides specialist workshops, and there will be 50 leading speakers. The Hedge Funds World Middle East 2007 website boasts an 8 year track record, intensively researched to deliver in-depth insight into the hedge fund universe and the latest trends and investment styles.

To attend; http://www.terrapinn.com/2007/hfwme/

British Rail Pension Fund Plans to Invest One Billion In Hedge Funds

Railpen, one of the largest pension funds in Britain with £18 billion ($35.3 billion) in assets under management is planning to move at least £540 million ($1 billion) into hedge funds this year.

Chris Hitchen, Railpen chief executive, said they are planning on having £1.4 billion ($2.7 billion) invested in hedge funds by December, increasing their exposure from 5% to 8%.

“We have been divesting our equity portfolio to buy other asset classes, such as private equity, property, hedge funds and infrastructure,” Mr Hitchen said. “We went into infrastructure assets last year, but they’re somewhat overheated, so we’re trying to make sure we don’t put all our money in at the same time.”

According to the Times Online, a recent NAPF survey indicated that 11% of pension funds had invested in hedge funds by the end of 2006, up from 8% the previous year. There were also rises in the amount of money that pension funds invested in property, private equity and venture capital as part of a wider move out of equities in 2006.

He said that despite concerns about the stability of the hedge fund industry, the funds could provide returns that were more stable than equities.