Asia is a hot growth area for prime brokers at present. The market in the US matured some time ago and the rapid expansion that started in Europe in the late 1990s has slowed.

"The needs of Asian hedge fund clients are essentially the same as [those of] their US and European brethren," says Kirby Daley, strategist at Fimat in Hong Kong and its head of sales and capital introductions. "However, the eclectic nature of the Asian region in terms of regulation, fees, taxes and varying levels of market sophistication from a technology perspective [place] a greater burden . . . on Asian prime brokers to offer comprehensive services in the region."