Survey shows 79% of hedge funds expect Britain to stay in EU

A survey of 270 Europe-based hedge fund managers carried out earlier this month by alternative assets data and analysis firm Preqin found that 79% believe Britons will remain in the EU, while 14% reckon they will opt to leave.

The survey showed that 59% of UK-based firms think an exit would have some level of negative impact on the global hedge fund industry, while in the rest of Europe 35% of managers believe there would be no negative consequences if Britain leaves the EU.

Almost twice as many European managers as UK-based managers think a Brexit would have a positive effect on the hedge fund industry, at 31% and 17%, respectively.

Preqin noted that the performance of hedge funds in the region has been affected as the Brexit debate takes its toll on European markets; 48% of UK-based managers and 41% of other Europe-based managers said their performance had been affected by the issue in the first half of 2016.

The survey findings came as polls this week revealed the Leave campaign is taking the lead.

According to the latest poll from market research company Ipsos MORI for the Evening Standard, around 53% of Brits are in support of leaving the EU, while 47% want to stay, excluding undecided voters. This marked a stark contrast with last month, when the same poll revealed that 60% of Brits were backing the Remain campaign.

In the past week, surveys from ORB, ICM and YouGov have all put the Leave campaign ahead.