Activist hedge fund strategies brought in among the strongest returns in the hedge fund industry in April, while overall industry returns are being dragged down by some mediocre performances, according to the eVestment April 2018 Hedge Fund Performance Report.
The overall industry returned 0.38 per cent in April, bringing year-to-date (YTD) 2018 returns to a just-barely positive 0.20 per cent. Activist strategies were by far the strongest performers among primary strategies, seeing 2.21 per cent returns in April. However, YTD performance for activist strategies – at +0.27 per cent – is just barely above the overall industry YTD return.
Overall, 60 per cent of reporting funds saw positive returns in April, while only 52 per cent of funds are positive YTD, indicating a muddied picture for the industry going forward with still two-thirds of the year ahead and a volatile geopolitical and business climate continuing to rattle world markets.
While most primary strategies are in the black for April, Relative Value Credit and Macro strategies both turned in negative performances for the month, at -0.01 per cent and -0.13 per cent respectively.
Managed Futures funds were just barely positive for the month at 0.07 per cent, while YTD Managed Futures funds are the big laggard among primary strategies YTD at -2.32 per cent.
Among firms with primary regional or country exposure, India-focused funds were the big winner in April, returning 3.53 oer cent. YTD returns for India-focused funds are still down however, at -3.70 per cent for the year. China-, Brazil- and Russia-focused funds were all negative for the month of April and are negative YTD.
On average, funds based in the United States, Continental Europe and the United Kingdom saw positive results in April and so far this year. However, funds based in Asia saw -0.96 per cent returns in April and are down YTD at -0.72 per cent.
