The average confidence of hedge fund managers in the prospects for their businesses over the coming 12 months has hit a new two-year low, according to data released by the Alternative Investment Management Association.

The average confidence of hedge fund managers in the prospects for their businesses over the coming 12 months has hit a new two-year low, according to data released by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA).

The AIMA Hedge Fund Confidence Index (HFCI), which is based on  on a sample of 328 hedge funds, accounting for approximately $2 trillion in assets. is +14.1, 11-point down on the previous quarter’s yearly high of 25.4, and the lowest score recorded since the HFCI began two years ago

UK hedge fund managers are the most optimistic (15.1) while their North American counterparts are the least optimistic (13.5), which according to AIMA could be a response to the SEC's proposed changes for the private funds' industry.

The downturn in confidence from the previous quarter is ubiquitous across all regions, fund sizes and strategies but upon closer examination of the data the overall score is most influenced by a clear divergence in confidence across strategies that post significantly lower scores related to the prior quarter.

EMEA (ex-UK) managers are the second most confident with a score of 14.9 driven by optimism among Middle East managers who are the most confident of all regional groups.