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Which are the best hedge-fund service providers?

AsianInvestor polls hedge funds about the best in prime brokering, fund administration and legal services.
Throughout November 2006, AsianInvestor polled 94 individual hedge-fund firms that are actively trading Asia Pacific and using local service providers. These firms manage over a combined $42 billion of assets in the Asia-Pacific region.

We asked them for their opinions regarding the best Asia-Pacific prime brokers, administrators and law firms. Morgan Stanley, HSBC and Maples & Calder came out on top.

We approached only hedge funds, and specifically only those that actively trade Asia Pacific. We did not include analysts, funds of funds or others connected with the industry. The results were scored on an asset-weighted basis, the details of which are available in the December issue of AsianInvestor magazine.

Morgan Stanley swept the boards, voted best prime brokerage for stock borrowing, client servicing, consulting/capital introductions and market access products. Goldman Sachs came in second in all four categories except for stock borrow, where it was pipped by UBS. The full results can be found in the magazine.

HSBC narrowly won the poll for the best fund administrator for reporting/fund accounting, as well as for best client service. Citco came in second for reporting/fund accounting, while Fortis claimed the silver for best client service.

Maples & Calder, the Cayman Island specialist, was voted best law firm, followed by Deacons and Clifford Chance.
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