Using data from HFR and Eurekahedge, AlternativeSoft selected five funds with the highest 2020 returns to see if simple momentum has generated strong returns in 2021.
The five funds generated returns between 149 per cent and 300 per cent in 2020, with the best performing, SYWLP, returning 300.45 per cent was SYWLP.
However, when AlternativeSoft analysed the performance of the same funds in the first quarter of 2021, it found that their momentum were not carried over. SYWLP, for example, has a negative return of 28.47 per cent so far this year, while overall, the top five funds in 2020 generated an average return of 203.81 per cent, the same five funds in Q1 of 2021 generated an average return of 13.26 per cent.
When comparing the 2021 top-ranked funds, they all ranked very low in terms of returns in 2020. For example, the best performing fund in Q1-2021, Loyola Capital Fund Ltd was ranked 82nd in 2020.
Out of the five best funds in 2020, only one has managed to stay in the top five in 2021 so far – Diversified Trend 1 – which in 2020 had returns of 193.20 per cent and still ranked third in Q1-2021 with 82.32 per cent.
