Hedge Funds gained 0.37 per cent in June according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The index has risen every month this year, as well as in 11 of the past 12 months, and is up 4.41 per cent for 2017.
“The hedge fund industry continues to show broad strength,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge. “The continued rally in the US equity market combined with outsized returns in specific market segments have led the industry higher this year.”
Overall, 13 of 17 subindices showed gains in June. Among the winners, Healthcare and Biotechnology led all subcategories with a 5.32 per cent gain, followed by Pacific Rim Equities with a gain of 1.85 per cent and Equity Long Bias at 0.85 per cent. Sectors with the greatest losses were Technology (-1.21), Global Macro (-0.74 per cent), and Distressed Securities (-0.13 per cent).
In addition to being the top performing area in June, Healthcare and Biotechnology also lead all sectors year to date with a gain of 11.92 per cent. Technology is the second best performing sector for the year, with a solid 11.08 per cent gain despite a dip in June. Other solid winners for the year include Emerging Markets (8.24 per cent) and European Equities (6.00 per cent). Global macro, on the other hand, continues to take it on the chin. In addition to recording the worst performance in June it is the only sub–index that is in negative territory for the year to date (-0.15 per cent).
“2017 has been an interesting year for the hedge fund industry,” says Waksman. “While the US market has remained strong, recent attention has been focused in emerging markets and Europe. We’ve seen positive returns in a period of historically low volatility; it will be interesting to see how markets perform if volatility picks up.”
