Hedge Fund Assets Seen Hitting $1T by 2010

Make greater way for hedge funds. The Bank of New York and Casey, Quirk & Associates estimate that hedge funds will go from $360 billion in invested assets to over $1 trillion by 2010. The number might seem on the high side, but in 2004 BoNY estimated a five-fold increase by 2006, and the estimate for this year is now leaning towards a six-fold increase from $60 billion to $360 billion.A driving force in the forecast is pension funds in the U.S. “Broadening acceptance of alternative investments coupled with lower expected returns from traditional investments are driving demand for hedge funds among global institutional investors,” said Brian Ruane, executive vice president at the Bank of New York.