A rally in stocks, some commodities and the US dollar helped hedge funds ride out a bumpy period for bonds, with gains seen across different strategies in the first three months of the year, according to a report by Reuters.
A report tracking hedge fund performance globally from the Goldman Sachs prime brokerage division is cited in revealing that fundamental equities long-short hedge funds were up 6.28% in the first quarter, while systematic long-short funds posted gains of 11%. Technology-focused hedge funds meanwhile, gained on 11.3%.
By comparison, the S&P 500 advanced 9.09% over the quarter.
The report quotes Ryan Lobdell, Head of Marketable Alternatives at Meketa Investment Group: “So far it has been a very good start to the year for hedge funds. There has been an increase in the trendiness of equities and commodities.”
The quarterly results come on the back of a year of positive performance for the industry with hedge funds posting average gains of 8.12% last year, while the S&P 500 gained 24%.
