Hedge fund assets at global alternative investment firm Hillhouse Investment, which operates out of offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, New York and London, plummeted by a third last month to $27.5bn, according to a report by Reuters.

The report cites a US regulatory filing as revealing the decline at the firm, which is known for its long-term bets on Chinese technology, consumer goods and technology companies – all sectors that have struggled recently due to regulatory changes and lower demand, as well as the wider slump in the country's stock markets.

According to a Reuters source, underperformance at the firm, which was founded by Zhang Lei in 2005, has seen several US-based investors withdraw their capital completely from the firm's HHLR hedge fund arm, with others reportedly considering doing so.

The withdrawals at Hillhouse come amid a wider fall in Asian hedge funds, with the region seeing net outflows of some $15.6bn last year.