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Barclay Hedge Fund Index up 1.25 per cent in April

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Hedge funds were up 1.25 per cent in April, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index has gained 3.82 per cent year to date.

“Rising stock prices provided the tailwind for equity hedge funds in April,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge. “Additionally, a rally in US high yield bonds coupled with a sell-off in high grade bonds caused credit spreads to tighten, which helped boost returns for fixed income funds.”

Overall, 14 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices had gains in April. The Emerging Markets Index jumped 5.13 per cent, Pacific Rim Equities gained 2.59 per cent, Convertible Arbitrage was up 1.41 per cent, the Event Driven Index gained 1.09 per cent, and Distressed Securities rose 0.98 per cent.
The Healthcare & Biotechnology Index was down 1.71 per cent in April, Global Macro lost 1.29 per cent, Equity Market Neutral was down 0.71 per cent, and the Multi Strategy Index slipped 0.46 per cent.

“In a sharp selloff, the US Dollar gave back almost one-fourth of its gains of the past year. This combined with an unexpected increase in global interest rates hit macro funds hard, and gave the index its worst loss since August 2013 when it dropped 1.71 per cent,” says Waksman.

After four months, the Emerging Markets Index leads all hedge fund strategies with a 7.53 per cent gain, Healthcare & Biotechnology is up 6.79 per cent, Pacific Rim Equities have gained 5.41 per cent, European Equites are up 4.96 per cent, and the Merger Arbitrage Index has added 3.66 per cent.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 0.51 per cent in April, and is up 3.28 per cent for the year.

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