As we look back on what can best be described as an eventful 2011, which strategies have managed to fare the best?
As we look back on what can best be described as an eventful 2011, which strategies have managed to fare the best? Well, according to figures on the UCITS Alternative Index, hosted by Alix Capital, commodity funds are the only strategy, through November, to be in positive territory: up 0.61 per cent at the start of this month. The overall global index shows that UCITS have returned -3.98 per cent. If one refers to the UCITS-compliant HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, funds are down 0.53 per cent as of December 20, and down 8.96 per cent for the year. According to Alix Capital’s figures, Emerging Market UCITS have suffered the biggest losses in 2011, down 10.2 per cent. That’s more than twice the losses of the next worst performer, Fund of Funds UCITS, which are down 5.21 per cent.
Admittedly, these figures will be adjusted to reflect December’s performance, but in terms of a barometric reference as we head towards the end of the year it’s clear that EM funds have had a tough year. After commodities, fixed income funds have kept losses to a minimum, down a moderate 1.17 per cent. Perhaps the most revealing point is that a slew of strategies have delivered a similar level of performance in 2011: CTAs, market neutral, FX, long/short equity, macro and multi-strategy have returned between -3.18 per cent and -4.97 per cent this year. Hopefully 2012 will see these various strategies produce a wider, and hence uncorrelated, range of returns.
