World's biggest hedge fund returns found in Singapore

Singapore has emerged as an unexpected hub for exceptional hedge fund performance, with the city-state's managers substantially outpacing global peers in 2019. Chong Chin Eai's Vanda Global Fund Ltd., named after Singapore's national orchid and seeded with just US$24 million from friends and family, delivered returns exceeding 300% this year, ranking it as the world's top-performing hedge fund. Operating from a modest setup—trading futures from his home laptop between morning jogs and afternoon breaks—Chong has built one of the year's most impressive track records.

Singapore's success extends beyond a single outlier. The island nation hosts two of the world's top 10 hedge funds in 2019, with a third maintaining a partial presence there. This concentration rivals or exceeds performance hubs traditionally associated with global finance: the United States has only four top-10 funds, while Europe and Hong Kong have none. According to Eurekahedge Pte data, Singapore-based hedge funds collectively averaged 9.4% net returns in 2019, outperforming the Asia regional average of 7.6%, Europe at 6%, and North America at 7.6%.

The drivers of Singapore's hedge fund success appear to trace to three factors, with investor risk appetite standing foremost. Singapore ranks among the world's wealthiest nations on a per-capita basis and maintains an outsized wealth management sector relative to its size. This concentration of capital combines with a notable willingness among wealthy regional investors to accept elevated volatility and allocation sizes into high-risk strategies—characteristics that may differentiate Singapore capital from more conservative institutional sources elsewhere.

This outperformance carries particular significance given the broader headwinds facing the hedge fund industry globally. Global outflows totaled US$88 billion through 2019, more than double the prior year's redemptions, as institutional and individual investors increasingly question whether hedge fund fee structures justify returns relative to passive and alternative strategies. Singapore's cluster of high-performing funds, therefore, provides a counter-narrative to prevailing skepticism about active management and highlights the potential for concentrated expertise and suitable investor bases to generate alpha despite industry-wide pressures.