Investing in Hedge Funds

The RBC Hedge 250 Index had a net return of -2.41 per cent in August., bringing the year-to-date return of the Index to -1.45 per cent. »

The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was down 2.19% in August. Year-to-date performance as of August 2011 is down 3.80%. »

New hedge fund launches in the second quarter of 2011 totalled 280, a slight decline from the 298 new funds that were launched in the first quarter, according to data released today by HFR in the latest edition of Market Microstructure Report: 2Q11. »

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index declined 3.38% in August (-1.92% YTD), while the S&P 500 declined 5.68% (-3.08% YTD), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -4.36% (+0.31% YTD), and the NASDAQ Composite Index decreased -6.42% (-2.78% YTD).   »

Early estimates for the very volatile month of August show broad hedge fund industry performance somewhere in the –3 to –5% range, while the IQ Hedge Composite Beta Index, IndexIQ’s broadest hedge fund replication index, finished August down –1.10%. »

Swiss Investment Managers (SIM) will launch the Directors Dealings Fund (DDF) in September, the first hedge fund in Europe and the US investing solely in the reported share dealings of company directors and senior corporate executives in their own firms. »

In the first half of the year, ALTIN – the USD270m multi-strategy fund of hedge funds listed in the London and Swiss stock exchanges – was able to protect its investors' portfolios, according to the firm's performance figures for the first six-months of 2011. »

The hedge fund industry took in USD3.8 billion (0.2% of assets) in June, the sixth straight inflow as well as the eleventh in 12 months, according to the latest figures from BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research.  »

State Street Corporation and InfraHedge, a UK-based company providing  an independent governance and risk management infrastructure for institutional investors to invest in hedge funds through managed accounts, have formed a new strategic alliance marked by State Street’s majority equity investment in InfraHedge. »

With relatively high equity market valuations and low interest rate environments in virtually all developed markets, South African investors looking for offshore diversification are faced with a challenging prospect in terms of both risk and returns. »