The hedge fund industry posted a -4.16% return for June which made for its third consecutive down month according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.
Hedge funds did however fare markedly better than the S&P 500 Total Return Index which lost -8.25% over the month.
For the year-to-date range, hedge funds are down -9.93% through June, again outperforming the S&P 500 Total Return Index which was down -19.96% over the same interval.
Only three subsectors managed to avoid red ink in June and those that did eked out only modest gains. These subsectors were led by the Equity Market Neutral Index, which returned 0.74% for the month, while the Emerging Markets Asian Equities Index advanced 0.36% and the Emerging Markets Asia Index was up 0.30%.
Among the subsectors losing ground in June, the Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index and the Emerging Markets Latin America Index were hardest hit, hemorrhaging -11.72% and -8.47% respectively. They were followed by a large cluster of sectors that lost between -5% and -6% on the month. These included: The Equity Long Bias Index -5.99%; the Emerging Markets Global Equities Index -5.68%; the Balanced (Stocks & Bonds) Index -5.48%; the Emerging Markets Global Index -5.39%; and the Event Driven Index -5.04%.
The year-to-date picture was similarly grim. Only two subsectors have accumulated any forward progress so far in 2022; the Global Macro Index (+5.05%) and the Equity Market Neutral Index (+2.09%). Technology and Biotech-focused sectors are the furthest underwater thus far. The Technology Index has lost -21.01% followed closely by the Healthcare & Biotechnology Index which is down -20.49%. Broad emerging market indices have also struggled mightily with the Emerging Markets Global Equities Index down -15.26%; the Emerging Markets Global Index (-14.85%); and the Emerging Markets Index (-13.47%). The Equity Long Bias Index is underwater -15.07% and the Balanced (Stocks & Bonds) Index hasn’t fared much better with a -13.75% compounded return.
