Hedge funds started 2021 on a positive note returning 0.98 per cent in January, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. By comparison, the S&P 500 Total Return Index was down 1.01 per cent in January.
Gainers outnumbered losers in January among the sectors tracked in the Barclay Hedge Fund Indices, despite challenging news on both the economic and the Covid-19 pandemic fronts during the month.
“Most hedge funds sectors performed solidly during a complicated month,” says Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Equity markets reached record highs before tailing off late in the month with the S&P 500 experiencing its worst week since October. Meanwhile, COVID cases surged once again, leading to a UK lockdown and a downturn in US employment. Despite the negatives, the hedge fund industry managed to produce a positive month in January.”
Setting the pace among January’s gainers was the Healthcare & Biotechnology Index, up 3.90 per cent. The Merger Arbitrage Index returned 3.65 per cent, the Emerging Markets Asian Equities Index gained 3.46 per cent, the Emerging Markets Sub Saharan Africa Index returned 2.41 per cent, and the Convertible Arbitrage Index advanced 2.36 per cent.
Sectors in the red for January included the Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index, down 2.48 per cent, the Volatility Trading Index, giving up 1.06 per cent, the Emerging Markets MENA Index, losing 0.92 per cent, the Global Macro Index, off 0.54 per cent, and the Fund of Funds Index, retreating 0.46 per cent.
