Hedge funds gain in July
THE HEDGE fund industry made further gains in July but was unable to outperform equities, according to two pieces of research out yesterday.
The Hennessee Hedge Fund index (HHF) advanced by 3.37 per cent during the month, compared to a 7.41 per cent gain on the Standard & Poor’s, an 8.58 per cent rise on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and a 7.82 increase on the NASDAQ Composite Index.
“Hedge funds underperformed in July, as we would expect, but we were able to capture a good portion of the market rally,” said New York-based Hennessee Group’s managing principal Lee Hennessee. “However, managers remain vigilant, knowing that markets could crack quickly.”
The Hennessee Long/Short Equity index gained 2.89 per cent, while the firm’s Arbitrage/Event driven index added 3.62 per cent.
Meanwhile, Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research (HFR) said that investor withdrawals in the second quarter had fallen around 60 per cent from the previous quarter as risk aversion has receded.
HFR said that assets invested in the hedge-fund industry increased by $100bn (£61bn) over the period, ending at $1.43 trillion, marking the first increase in assets since the second quarter of 2008.
The firm said that the asset growth was fuelled by performance gains during the quarter, as the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index returned 9.13 per cent, the industry’s best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 1999.