Bermuda-based West End Capital Management, a hedge fund vehicle that counts billionaire Warren Buffett as a customer, raised $30 million from new investors for its Value Capital LP fund, a tenth of the amount it aimed to garner.

West End may take until the end of 2004 to raise the targetted $300 million, said Mark Byrne, who runs the fund. Returns on the fund, which bets on the price difference of related fixed-income securities, also have fallen short, he said.

?In hindsight, it wasn?t a realistic target,? Byrne said in a telephone interview. ?It?s been a lesson to us. We?re learning what the market expects.?

The number of hedge funds has more than doubled since 1998, stiffening competition for investors? cash. While funds often rely on prominent names to help draw money from other clients, the Value Capital LP fund is struggling to raise money as quickly as planned even after Buffett committed to keep his $600 million with the firm for another four years. William von Mueffling, who oversaw a top-ranked stock fund at Lazard LLC before quitting in January, has attracted about $2 billion since opening his Cantillon Capital funds in September.

? Bloomberg News