Une adresse à Mayfair ou Vendôme: la rationalité spatiale des Hedge Funds

With financial globalization, there has been a thorough reorganization of financial activities. A new geography of finance has emerged with, first of all, activities being transferred from the historical heart of big cities to the peripheral areas. Alternative asset management that has emerged in Europe in the past ten years is undoubtedly the paradox example of this suburbanization movement. We notice a high level of spatial concentration in the historical heart of Paris and London. Hedge Funds, particularly independent organizations choose Upper Class area. To provide an understanding of the future dynamics of the location of financial activities we need to redefine the notion of financial market. To provide an understanding of this location of alternative activities we need to redefine the socio-economic characteristics of hedge funds. The specific nature of this activity – highly skilled employees, high value-added knowledge services, lack of public information – justify concentration in order to take advantage of informational externalities and of the presence of specialized companies. An address in Mayfair or at Place Vendôme counts in the world of hedge funds.