The hedge fund industry took in USD18.7 billion (0.8 per cent of assets) in April, up from USD10.6 billion (0.5 per cent of assets) in March, according to BarclayHedge and Trim Tabs Investment Research.
“Hedge funds took in USD56.4 billion in the first four months of 2014, more than triple the inflow of USD16.9 billion in the same period last year,” says Sol Waksman, president and founder of BarclayHedge.
Industry assets climbed to a five and a half year high of USD2.2 trillion in April, according to estimates based on data from 3,369 funds. Assets rose 18 per cent in the past 12 months but were down nine per cent from the all-time high of USD2.4 trillion in June 2008.
The monthly TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Flow Report says the hedge fund industry earned just 0.01 per cent in April and underperformed the S&P 500, which gained 0.7 per cent. In the past 12 months, the industry returned 7.7 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 17.9 per cent.
“Funds targeting distressed securities have been standout performers this year,” says Waksman. “These funds rose 1.1 per cent in April and 5.2 per cent in the first four months of this year, outperforming all other hedge fund strategies.”
The monthly TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Survey of Hedge Fund Managers finds 42 per cent of the hedge fund managers queried were neutral on the S&P 500 over the next 30 days, and the rest were evenly divided between bullish and bearish. Most managers expected emerging and frontier markets to underperform over the next six months, but the majority favouring developed markets dipped to a 15-month low.
