Swiss hedge funds company Gottex posted an operating loss in the first half of 2010 as persistent scepticism about alternative investments continued to depress revenues. The company said on Thursday it had slipped into an operating loss of $1.1m, against a profit of $9.2m a year earlier.

Founded in 1992, Gottex has seen its managed assets shrink by more than half to $7.3bn since mid-2008 and it expects the trend to continue. Nearly 90 percent of assets are from institutional investors.

"The uncertainty in global financial markets continues to impact institutional asset flows into the hedge funds industry, with most investors lacking conviction in the current environment," the company said.

"This slowdown in asset raising as well as the delay in return of performance fees naturally will have an impact on net revenues for the year as new initiatives take time to grow."