The AIMA Hedge Fund Confidence Index (HFCI) measured +25.4 for Q3 2022 – up from +17.8 in Q2 – the highest average confidence score recorded since the HFCI debuted in 2020. The index, which is based on a sample of 389 hedge funds, accounting for approximately $3 trillion in assets measure average confidence in terns of business propspects for the next 12 months.

According to AIMA's research, UK fund managers with greater than $1 billion in AUM are the most confident, followed by their Asia-Pacific peers and then US-based managers.

On a regional basis, all major global regions posted higher confidence levels than their previous score, and the highest confidence scores to date. Firms that demonstrated the highest levels of confidence were EMEA (ex-UK) based fund managers, with those in the Middle Eastern reporting an average score of +31, almost eight points higher than the average score reported by North American based funds.

Notably, among the population of respondents from the Middle East and Europe-based funds, these predominantly comprised macro funds and multi-strategy funds, both enjoying the highest confidence levels of all the strategies that reported to the index this quarter. 

By comparison, 60% of all North American based funds that we polled are long-short equity funds which reported the lowest levels of confidence among the strategies well represented in the index this quarter.