Kanetsu Will Close DragonHorse, Exit Hedge Funds

Kanetsu Asset Management Co. will liquidate hedge funds, including Japan’s best performer last year, as commodities trading shrinks, a company executive said.

The Tokyo-based firm will shut DragonHorse, which according to data provider Eurekahedge Pte returned 27 percent in 2008, the highest among Japan-based hedge funds. Kanetsu Asset will also close two other hedge funds before the firm shuts at the end of March, because computer-driven trading of commodities has become less viable as volumes have declined, President Takashi Ogura said in a telephone interview today.