Overwhelming majority of hedge fund managers based in the Europe believe that Britain will remain in the European Union, but show different outlooks on the impact Brexit would have on the hedge fund industry, according to a new survey report published by Preqin.
The survey, in which 270 fund managers participated, found that 79% of managers in both the UK and the rest of Europe believe Britons will vote to remain in the EU, while 14% of managers in both regions think otherwise.
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When asked about the impact of Brexit, respondents differed in their outlook. Nearly three-fifth (59%) of UK-based firms said they believe that an exit would have some level of negative impact on the global hedge fund industry, while in the rest of Europe only 35% of managers said Britain leaving would have negative consequences.
In contrast, almost twice as many European managers (31%) as UK-based managers (17%) think a British exit from the EU would have a positive effect on the hedge fund industry.
The study further revealed that the EU referendum debate has affected the performance of hedge funds in the region.
Nearly half (48%) of UK-based managers and 41% of other Europe-based managers admitted that their performance had been affected in the first half of 2016 due to the debate, though elsewhere, the debate has had less affect on hedge fund performance.
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By GlobalDataNearly 85% of North America fund managers said that the referendum did not affect fund performance, while 58% believed that Brexit would not lead to long-term impact to the industry.
Preqin head of hedge fund products Amy Bensted said: "As the date of the EU referendum regarding Britain’s membership of the EU draws near, Preqin has polled hedge fund managers globally to find out more about their predictions for the outcome of the vote. The consensus globally is that Britons will choose to remain part of the EU; and within the UK nearly 80 per cent of fund managers believe that the "Remain" camp will win out.
"The impact of the debate on hedge fund performance has been most significant for those funds within Europe; around a third of fund managers in the UK and the rest of Europe believe it has negatively impacted their performance in the first half of 2016. The outlook on the potential impact of a vote to leave is mixed between regions; perhaps unsurprisingly, UK-based managers see the greatest potential for a negative impact on the industry should the British people decide to leave the Union."
