13/10/2010 Author: Shannon Hawthorne

Survey downplays Switzerland relocations

Over 80% of respondents in a recent HFMWeek survey believe that less than one in five hedge fund employees have departed London for Geneva, casting further doubt over recent claims that around a quarter have already made the move.

Featuring responses from fund managers, service providers and investors, the online survey found that 35.3% of respondents estimate that less than 5% of hedge fund employees have left the UK for Switzerland, while only 17.7% of respondent believe that more than 20% of employees have relocated.

The survey also revealed that, while most hedge fund (and fund of hedge funds) managers believe that somewhere between 10% and 20% of UK employees have relocated to Switzerland, the majority of service providers and investors estimate that the actual figure is no more than 10%.

Earlier this month, consulting firm Kinetic Partners stated that one in four hedge fund employees had relocated to Switzerland as a result of increasing tax pressures, costing the UK around £500m ($794m) in lost tax revenue.
This figure was subsequently questioned by many within the hedge fund industry, with some senior hedge fund figures estimating that only a few hundred out of a total 10,000 hedge fund employees had left the City.

Concerns over what is considered to be a growing trend remain, however. Earlier this year, Moore Capital revealed it had opened an office in Geneva, joining Brevan Howard and BlueCrest, both of whom established a presence in Switzerland in 2009.