Hedge funds gained 1.91 per cent in May, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by Fairfield, Iowa-based BarclayHedge, which reported that the only losing strategy last month w
Hedge funds gained 1.91 per cent in May, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by Fairfield, Iowa-based BarclayHedge, which reported that the only losing strategy last month was equity short bias – albeit still the best performer so far this year.
‘More than 85 per cent of the hedge funds on our platform reported a profitable return for May,’ says BarclayHedge founder and president Sol Waksman. ‘For profitable hedge funds, the average return in May was 2.57 per cent.’
All but one of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices enjoyed positive returns in May. The Equity Long Bias Index was up 3.21 per cent, Distressed Securities rose 2.73 per cent, Healthcare and Biotechnology gained 2.58 per cent, and the Technology Index was up 2.41 per cent.
Performance in the equity markets was not equally distributed last month, and not all regions saw gains. ‘The US and Canadian equity markets had positive returns for May, but European markets were mixed, and in the UK prices declined,’ Waksman says. ‘Performance in emerging markets was also mixed, with Latin America and Eastern Europe gaining while Asian markets suffered setbacks.’
The one losing strategy, Equity Short Bias, fell by 3.19 per cent, but the index still leads all other hedge fund strategies so far in 2008, with a 4.99 per cent gain over the past five months. The Barclay Fund of Funds Index rose 1.79 per cent in May, but is still down by 1.74 per cent for the year.
BarclayHedge, formerly known as the Barclay Group, was founded in 1985 and tracks more than 6,600 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and managed futures programmes for its 18 proprietary hedge fund indices and eight managed futures indices.
