Hedge funds monitored by Australian Fund Monitors returned 2.43 per cent in September, taking year-to-date performance to 14.75 per cent.

The ASX200 returned 5.90 per cent in September and has a YTD performance of 27.43 per cent.

The strength of underlying equity markets meant that the top five strategies in September were equity related. The best performers of 2008, such as global macro and commodities/CTA were well down the list.

There was only one negative strategy, equity income, with the continued rally causing some issues for sellers of volatility. The worst performing manager of the month at -17 per cent also reported significant difficulties with long volatility strategies as volatility declined to levels not seen since 2006/07.