French hedge funds see government regulations as a challenge

While London is still the centre of the European hedge fund industry France is becoming an important location for hedge fund managers. Jamie Wynn-Williams reports

Andrea Favoloro, head of the Italian arm of French asset managers Fortis, believes France is a tough market for hedge funds. "If you look at our assets under management less than 3% of all the money invested in France is in hedge funds," says Favoloro. "In the UK I think around 60%-70% of our assets are invested in alternative strategies. So the big differences are the life cycle of the market and the mentality of the investors, but on top of that if you don't have the right regulatory