All bar two of the 13 Edhec-Risk Alternative Indices produced positive returns in January, with only short-selling (-4.92 per cent) and merger arbitrage (-0.30 per cent) ending the month in negative territory.

The performance of hedge fund strategies exposed to the equity risk factor was the highest in the last eight months of a firmly-established positive trend, and furthermore exhibited a strong alpha component (long/short equity: 3.40 per cent, equity market neutral: 1.60 per cent, event-driven: 2.26 per cent).

Convertible arbitrage returned a steady 1.55 per cent, with strong sensitivities to credit and convertible bonds outweighing a slight short exposure to equities. CTA global (1.86 per cent) posted the second positive, idiosyncratic performance in a row, breaking the pattern of recurring losses established for the past 10 months.

 The funds of funds strategy, finally, reached its highest level since May 2011 thanks to a 2.15 per cent gain, with a magnitude not seen for more than two years.