Hedge women set pace

The near-collapse of the banking industry and the ensuing financial crisis has led to one school of thought that high finance would be less dysfunctional and more efficient if the show was run by women.

Latest research into the hedge fund industry suggests there may be some truth in the assertion.

According to Hedge Fund Research, those run by women are doing much better than those managed by men during the past year of the financial crisis.

It is not as if they have worked miracles though: female-run hedge funds are still down, off 9.6% over the 12 months, although that compares to a fall of 19% for the rest of the male-run industry.

But over a longer period, the girls — such as Elena Ambrosiadou, said to have amassed £200 million from her Ikos fund — are still on top. During the last decade, female investment managers achieved an average annual return of just over 9% against less than 6% for the men.