8216;Hedge fund asset migration leaps8217;

About three-quarters of assets of Asia-focused hedge funds are managed by fund managers in the area.

About three-quarters of assets under the management of Asia-focused hedge funds are managed by fund managers based in the region,up from about 60 percent three years ago,according to a survey by industry tracker AsiaHedge released on Monday.

109 bln under Asia funds now run from region vs 77 in 2008

Asia hedge fund assets fall 5 pct to 145 bln in H1 2011

HK increases market share as top Asia hedge fund centre

The survey,which showed Asia hedge fund assets shrinking 5 percent in the first half to 145 billion,said 109 billion was managed from within Asia as global funds set up local offices and a growing realisation that Asian assets are best managed locally by managers based in the region.

The growth is a big leap from the year 2000,in the early years of the industry,when half of the industry8217;s assets were managed by ex-Asia managers,mainly those in Britain and the United States,said Aradhna Dayal,editor of AsiaHedge.

Even as late as the end of 2008 this split was 63:37,reflecting an increasingly serious commitment to regional offices by international managers in the post-2008 crisis years,Hong Kong-based Dayal told Reuters.

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The growing assets of locally-managed funds launched by high profile managers such as former Goldman Sachs Group Inc trader Morgan Sze8217;s Azentus and ex-Citadel Nick Taylor8217;s Senrigan,and established funds in Asia contributed to the growth.

Managers based in the region managed about 77 billion in 2008,according to AsiaHedge estimates.

Hong Kong,the only centre of Asia-focused hedge funds to have increased asset in the first half of 2011,consolidated its position as the largest hedge fund centre with a near 27 percent market share,the survey showed.

Asia ex-Japan equity hedge fund strategy was the largest fund category with 28 billion in assets.