Ivy Asset Management, the US hedge fund of funds and alternative investment manager, has opened an office in Hong Kong to provide hedge fund and customised services to institutional and high net worth investors across the Asia Pacific region. The new office will be headed by Alex Balfour, managing director and head of Client Development for Asia ex-Japan, who joined Ivy in November 2007 from Union Bancaire Privee. The Hong Kong-based team will include research professionals, client service managers and operations staff. With over 40 per cent of the firm's assets now outside the US, the Hong Kong office is Ivy's sixth location. The firm opened a Tokyo office in 2004 and established full-scale operations in London in 2003. In the US, Ivy has operations in San Francisco and New York City, in addition to its headquarters in Jericho, New York. "Ivy's growth strategy will increasingly leverage the expansion of alternative assets outside the US," said Sean Simon, co-president of Ivy, in a statement. "The Asian markets are a critical component of our long-term success." Founded in 1984, Ivy is one of BNY Mellon Asset Management's specialist asset managers. It has over 170 employees in New York, San Francisco, London and Tokyo, and provides investment management and client services.