Hedge funds are up 0.43 per cent so far in 2018, their weakest performance on record since 2008 when they declined 0.23 per cent in the seven months up to July, according to the August 2018 Eurekahedge report.
Almost 49 per cent of managers are in the green for the year with roughly 13 per cent of these managers posting double digit gains as tracked in the Eurekahedge Global Hedge Funds Database.
Total assets under management have increased by USD6.8 billion as of July 2018 year-to-date, down from USD126.7 billion over the same period last year as performance driven losses and subdued allocations from investors cap asset growth.
With the exception of Asia, all major regional mandates are in the green for the year. Concerns over the US-China trade war have seen Asian mandates slip to the bottom of the league tables with the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index down 1.61 per cent for the year after posting gains of 17.1 per cent in AY 2017.
Assets under management for CTAs/managed futures strategies have shrunk by almost 12 per cent in 2018 – corresponding to a decline in AUM of USD30.7 billion in the first seven months of the year.
The CBOE Eurekahedge Short Volatility Hedge Fund Index gained 3.58 per cent in July, kicking off the second half of the year with its best monthly performance since 2009. The index slumped 8.45 per cent over the first half of 2018.
July was another month of losses for AI hedge fund managers, with the Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index down 0.09 per cent during the month. The index has posted four consecutive months of losses since April this year and is currently down 2.64 per cent year-to-date.
