Asia's Biggest Money Managers Look for Confidence to Rebound as Institutional Investor Releases Asia 100

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - September 9, 2009) - They say a rising tide lifts all boats, but don't tell that to Asian fund managers. The stunning rebound in Asian stock markets this year has failed to benefit most of the region's fund managers in Institutional Investor's annual ranking of Asia's Biggest Money Managers. Most investors are still licking their wounds from last year's declines and have stayed on the sidelines this year.

For full results of Asia 100, visit www.iimagazine.com

Assets under management of the Asia 100, Institutional Investor's annual ranking of the region's biggest money managers, declined by 11.8 percent, to $9.7 trillion, in 2008. Many big firms report little recovery in business so far this year. Assets at ING Group, the Dutch banking and insurance group that is the third-largest international manager in Asia, have been roughly flat so far this year after tumbling by 25 percent in 2008, to $121.3 billion, says Grant Bailey, the firm's Hong Kong-based regional general manager for Asia. "Clients are still quite wary," he explains.

"Investors are somewhat shell-shocked and finding it hard to come out of their burrows and write checks," says Paul Smith, CEO of Triple A Partners, a Hong Kong-based seeding platform for hedge funds. "There have been no new allocations to speak of coming into Asia."

For more information about Asia 100 - Asia's Biggest Money Managers, please contact Tom Johnson at tjohnson@institutionalinvestor.com or +1 212-224-3160.

Contact Information: Contact: Tom Johnson tjohnson@institutionalinvestor.com +1 212-224-3160