Hedge funds were up 0.42 per cent in September, with 2017 year-to-date gains coming in at 5.53 per cent, according to the October 2017 Eurekahege Report.
Total hedge fund assets grew by USD157.52 billion over the past nine months with USD83.1 billion attributed to investor inflows while managers posted performance-based gains of USD74.4 billion. The industry’s total assets currently stands at USD2.38 trillion.
Long/short equities mandated hedge funds led the table for the month with gains of 1.46 per cent. On a year-to-date basis, long/short equities hedge fund managers also topped the tables gaining 9.00 per cent. Year-to-date investor allocations for long/short equities hedge funds currently stand at USD18.9 billion, the highest year-to-date net inflows among strategic mandates this year.
CTA/managed futures hedge funds declined 1.37 per cent this month and down 0.76 per cent year-to-date, the mandate’s worst year-to-date returns on record with its sub-group of commodity focused strategies down 1.22 per cent while trend following strategies declined 3.10 per cent. CTA/managed futures managers posted performance-based losses totalling USD7.1 billion this year while net inflows totalling USD12.7 billion were recorded over the same period.
nsurance-linked securities (ILS) hedge funds registered losses of 5.08 per cent in September and down 3.29 per cent year-to-date as managers portfolio was affected by US hurricane exposure. While some funds have already posted losses in August and September, the full degree of damage from Harvey, Irma and Maria would only truly reveal itself in the coming months. For details see our latest Strategy Profile on ILS Hedge Funds.
New fund launches activity has been slowing down, with 421 launches over the first three quarters of 2017 which compares to 543 and 658 launches over the same period in 2016 and 2015 respectively. Meanwhile pressure on fees remains with the average new fund startup charging 16.9 per cent of performance fees, down from 18.2 per cent last year as increasing competition within the hedge fund industry continues.
The USD543.0 billion European hedge fund industry grew its AUM by USD37.1 billion as of September 2017 year-to-date, following a steep contraction in AUM of USD27.0 billion in 2016. Managers investing with a dedicated European mandate were up 5.89 per cent for the year following a flat gain of 0.25 per cent in 2016.
As of September 2017 year-to-date, Asian funds have recorded a growth in AUM of USD16.23 billion, with USD10.8 billion accounted for by performance-based gains while the remainder, roughly USD5.4 billion has come through net investor allocations. Asia ex-Japan managers are up 14.87 per cent for the year, leading the table among strategic mandates with underlying Greater China and Indian managers up 22.16 per cent and 19.36 per cent year-to-date respectively. Japan focused funds are up 8.83 per cent over the same period.
Strong investor inflows were recorded since the start of the year for the USD1.59 trillion North American hedge funds industry with total investors allocations for 2017 year-to-date stood at USD51.2 billion. A total of USD4.1 billion outflows were recorded on the same period last year ending September. For more details, please refer to the North American Hedge Funds report.
