The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 0.62 per cent in July, bringing its year-to-date return to 6.48 per cent. Roughly 30.8 per cent of hedge fund managers in the index have recorded double-digit gains over the first seven months of the year.
The global hedge fund industry AUM remained mostly flat as of July 2019 year-to-date. Final Q2 2019 net outflows figure stood at USD40.0 billion, as investor redemptions continued to slow down. Hedge fund managers recorded USD46.4 billion and USD94.7 billion of net outflows in Q1 2019 and Q4 2018 respectively.
The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index was up 6.90 per cent year-to-date, as fund managers focusing on the region benefited from the equity market rally throughout the first seven months of the year. The S&P 500 has gained 18.89 per cent over the first seven months of 2019, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite was up 23.21 per cent over the same period. North American hedge fund managers have recorded USD68.6 billion of performance growth year-to-date.
The Eurekahedge Greater China Hedge Fund Index gained 0.51 per cent in July, bringing its year-to-date gain to 10.37 per cent. Investor confidence in the USD28.4 billion mandate remained robust with USD0.9 billion of net inflows recorded in 2018, despite the USD2.3 billion performance decline over the same year.
The Eurekahedge CTA/Managed Futures Hedge Fund Index was up 1.44 per cent in July, with mixed returns among its underlying regional mandates. Long exposure to precious metals acted as a performance contributor for CTA/managed futures hedge funds during the month. Preliminary data showed that the mandate saw USD2.3 billion of net outflows in July.
Hedge fund managers utilising fixed income strategies ended the month of July up 0.47 per cent on the back of strong government and corporate bond markets. Dovish remarks from the Fed and ECB leaders drove the US 10-year bond yield to its lowest level since 2016, as well as the German 10-year bond yield to a record low. On a year-to-date basis, the Eurekahedge Fixed Income Hedge Fund Index has returned 5.50 per cent.
The Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index was up 0.64 per cent in July, bringing its year-to-date loss to 0.49 per cent. Despite being a calm period of insurance losses, the first half of 2019 has seen ILS hedge fund managers crippled by loss creep from past events.
The Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index slumped 5.88 per cent in July, ending their five-month winning streak. Crypto hedge fund managers benefited from the rally in crypto assets which saw Bitcoin breaching the USD12,000 level for the first time since the Q1 2018 crash. The index is still up 76.49 per cent over the first seven months of 2019.
