Hedge funds gained 1.05 per cent in April according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. Year to date, the Index is up 0.07 per cent as April’s gain moves it into positive territory for the first time this year.
Overall, 12 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices gained ground in April. The Event Driven Index was up 2.40 per cent, Distressed Securities gained 2.41 per cent, Healthcare and Biotechnology was up 2.14 per cent, Convertible Arbitrage gained 1.81 per cent, and Emerging Markets added 1.27 per cent.
“Improving trade data out of China, strengthening exchange rates for commodity linked currencies, a strong rally in high yield bonds, and a 20 percent surge in the price of crude oil provided ample impetus for the profitable hedge fund strategies in April,” says Sol Waksman (pictured), founder and president of BarclayHedge.
In the loss column, European Equities were down 0.90 per cent, Equity Short Bias lost 0.83 per cent, the Equity Market Neutral Index gave up 0.61 per cent, the Pacific Rim Equities Index lost 0.63 per cent, and Merger Arbitrage was down 0.24 per cent.
“Although global equity markets moved higher on the month, the dispersion of the returns of different sectors was quite high,” says Waksman. “Big name stocks with large hedge fund followings such as Apple and Microsoft also performed poorly in April.”
After four months in 2016, ten of Barclay’s hedge fund indices are in negative territory, while eight are showing gains.
The Healthcare and Biotechnology Index is down 8.52 per cent, European Equities have lost 5.89 per cent, Pacific Rim Equities are down 3.50 per cent, the Equity Long/Short Index has lost 2.22 per cent, and Technology is down 2.29 per cent.
On the positive side, Equity Short Bias has gained 3.37 per cent year to date, the Event Driven Index is up 2.68 per cent, Merger Arbitrage has gained 1.92 per cent, and Emerging Markets are up 1.76 per cent.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 0.36 per cent in April, but remains down 2.95 per cent year to date.