The hedge fund industry took in USD7.2 billion (0.3% of assets) in February, the strongest inflow in the past six months and a turnabout from January’s outflow of USD11.2 billion (0.5% of assets), according to BarclayHedge and TrimTabs.
“The redemptions of USD4.1 billion in the first two months of this year stand in dramatic contrast to the inflow of USD31.6 billion in the same period last year,” says Sol Waksman, president and founder of BarclayHedge. “In the past 12 months, hedge funds added USD39.2 billion, down 57% from USD91.4 billion in the previous twelve-month span.”
Hedge fund industry assets edged up to USD2.49 trillion in February from USD2.47 trillion the month before, according to BarclayHedge's estimate based on data from 3,600 funds.
The monthly TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Flow Report noted that the hedge fund industry gained 2.2% in February, its best performance in two years. Nevertheless, it underperformed the S&P 500, which rose 5.5%.
“Fixed Income funds had their best showing in sixteen months, rising 1.2% in February," says Waksman. “Multi-Strategy funds had the strongest inflows in February, taking in USD2.0 billion.”
The latest TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Sentiment Survey finds optimism on US stocks dipped to a six-month low in March, while bearishness rose by the highest amount in 14 months. Three-quarters of managers expect developed markets to outperform emerging and frontier markets in the next six months, while a slim majority expects stocks to outperform bonds and precious metals.
