Hedge fund withdrawal requests stay low in February - SS&C

LONDON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Investor (LSE: 0NC5.L - news) demand to take money out of hedge funds rose slightly month on month in February but remained seasonally low, data on Friday showed, with market volatility continuing to underpin demand.

The SS&C GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator, a measure of withdrawal requests as a percentage of assets under administration, was 3.27 percent, up from January's 2.31 percent, data from leading administrator SS&C Technologies (NasdaqGS: SSNC - news) showed.

Stock markets around the world have fallen sharply since the start of the year - the Standard & Poor's 500 is down 6.2 percent - driving even more money into hedge funds, which in theory should perform better in a falling market.

SS&C said the February pick up was within seasonal norms and was the second lowest reading of any month of February since it started tracking forward redemptions in 2008.

"This February also marked the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year improvements in the Indicator, occurring against a backdrop of severe market conditions. This demonstrates the resilience of the hedge fund sector," said Bill Stone, chairman and chief executive officer, SS&C Technologies.

The index is based on data provided by its clients and represents about 10 percent of assets invested in the hedge fund sector globally. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Adrian Croft)