Asia Hedge Funds Soar In ’09, Japanese Funds Lag

Asia is leading the global economic recovery, and it comes as no surprise that the region is also leading the hedge fund recovery.

Hedge funds in the region, excluding Japan, have been the strongest-performers in the world this year, rising 34.4% through last month, according to Eurekahedge. They’ve already topped their impressive returns from last year, when Asia ex-Japan hedge funds added 33.5% while the average hedge fund lost double-digits.

Japanese hedge funds have not done so well, and were, in fact, the worst-performing regional strategy in November, shedding 2.2%.