Pinpoint beats its peers with strong showing in China

Pinpoint Investment Advisor Ltd, a $560 million hedge fund manager, has reported profits four times its Asian peers this year through July as it gained from the rebound in Chinese stocks and debt securities.

The $70 million Pinpoint Opportunities Fund, which gained 85 percent in the period, invested about half of its assets in convertible and high-yield bonds, including those of Chinese property developers, said Duanmu Yongshan, Pinpoint's Hong Kong-based chief marketing officer. The $300 million Pinpoint China Fund had returns of nearly 51 percent in the period, he said.

Stock-focused hedge funds, the hardest hit in Asia amid last year's market slump, are leading the recovery in 2009. The Eurekahedge Asia Long/Short Equities Hedge Fund Index returned 19 percent this year through July, the best-performing strategy among eight tracked by the Singapore-based data provider. The index fell 22 percent in 2008, the worst since at least 2000.