Bermuda business is set to get a boost, after Bermuda International Business Association announced that a new hedge fund conference will be winging its way to the Island in May.

More than 250 delegates are expected to fly in for the three day event at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess from May 19 to 21.

The event will be hosted by magazine ?Hedge Fund Review? in a bid to boost its revenue by hosting conferences.

?Bermuda already hosts the biggest hedge fund conference, MarHedge, every year, so it has an established reputation in this field,? said Deborah Middleton, chief executive officer of BIBA.

?And hedge funds are an expanding market for Bermuda where there is still a lot of growth possible.?

Ms Middleton said that the event would help fill hotels, give work to taxi drivers and restaurants and bring top executives to Bermuda who may decide to do further business here.

?There are a lot of knock-on effects that these events have on our economy,? said Aaron Adderley, marketing manager at BIBA.

?And there is a growing interest in setting up hedge fund conferences in Bermuda.?

Mr. Adderley said that BIBA had been approached by several hedge fund magazines interested in staging conferences in Bermuda looking for advice and contact numbers.

The ?Hedge Fund Review? conference will have as its backers, among others, Lehman Brothers and Citibank, and will have space for 12 booths ? some of which are expected to be taken by local companies.

?Looking at bringing in more conferences is all part of our marketing strategy,? said Mr. Adderley.

?And hedge funds are clearly one of the growth areas in business for Bermuda. One of our goals is to diversify the sectors ? we have a lot invested in insurance. Putting all your eggs in one basket is not a wise thing to do. Hedge funds are the greatest growth sector year over year and bringing conferences to Bermuda is a way of helping expand that sector.?

Ms Middleton said that BIBA had in the past year been out on the road in London, Boston and New York and hedge funds were a large part of the association?s strategy.

In fact BIBA had targeted law firms that specialised in hedge funds and had met with many of the key players in this field.

Ms Middleton said: ?We identified that when people wanted to set up a hedge fund, the first thing they did was seek legal advice and talk to their lawyer, so it was an important place for us to start.?

And this year BIBA took Bermuda Monetary Authority chief executive officer Cheryl Lister with them to let lawyers and their clients know about regulations in Bermuda.

?Cheryl was the real draw for the clients,? said Ms Middleton. ?And we were able to get the why Bermuda message out at the same time by being there to offer help and advice.?

Following the success of the 2003 trips, BIBA is planning to take to the road again next year, with two trips planned so far.

?This direct marketing approach has been very successful and we want to keep up momentum, find new key players and meet up with the ones with whom we have already established contact,? said Ms Middleton.