New hedge fund launches in Europe were at record levels last year, with both the number of new funds and the overall volume of assets raised by the new funds achieving rapid growth, according to the latest annual survey by EuroHedge. In total 423 new hedge funds were launched in Europe during 2006, up 27 per cent on the 330 new funds which started in 2005, raising combined assets of $37.8 billion, also a record and up 35 per cent on 2005. But the rate of growth in the number of new funds launching in 2006 was slightly slower than 2005, when new fund launches rose by 32 per cent. The survey also showed a marked acceleration in the number and size of new fund launches over the second half of 2006. At the half-year stage in 2006, there had been 170 new launches in Europe, raising assets of $11.4 billion. In the second half, there were a further 250 new launches with combined assets of $26 billion. The biggest growth in 2006 in terms of individual strategy areas came in the event-driven category. Global equity was the next category of growth, with 75 new funds raising just under $5.5 billion in 2006. European long/short equity strategies remained the largest category for fund launches, with 111 new European long/short and market-neutral equity funds launched during 2006, raising a combined $7.3 billion.