Research house Preqin has noted a drop off in Asia-based hedge fund launches in this year’s third quarter.

The firm says Asia-Pacific-based managers represented just 3% of new vehicles, a quarter of the proportion seen in Q3 2015.

At the same time, the percentage of new funds launched that have a focus on the Asia-Pacific region fell from 9% in Q2 to just 1% in Q3, the lowest of any region.

North America-based fund managers accounted for 76% of new launches, a 12-month high.

Managers in Europe made up 20% of Q3 fund launches, down from 28% the previous quarter

“Overall, launch activity through the quarter has been dominated by funds run by North America-based managers, as well as funds with a global focus, while Europe- and Asia-Pacific-based firms have both accounted for a lower proportion of launch activity," said Amy Bensted, head of hedge fund products, Preqin

“On the part of Europe, this may in part be due to the uncertainty arising as a result of the unexpected Brexit decision in June, while in Asia cautious investor sentiment provides challenges for prospective new funds.”

Funds with a global focus accounted for 69% of new funds, up from 58% in Q2, while other regions stayed level.

Among leading hedge fund strategies, the level of new hedge funds launched which follow an equities strategy have fallen over the course of the year: 38% of funds launched in Q3 pursue this approach, the third consecutive quarterly decline for the strategy.

Meanwhile, event driven strategies accounted for 21% of launch activity in the quarter, up from 12% in Q2.

Single-manager hedge funds accounted for 86% of new funds launched in Q3 2016, up from 71% the previous quarter.

Conversely, UCITS and funds of hedge funds represented 7% and 3% oflaunch activity respectively, less than half the levels seen in Q2.

“Although the largest proportions of both active funds and new fund launches continue to be those that pursue an equities strategy, there has been a continued decline in the proportion of fund launches using this strategy over the past three quarters," Bensted added.