Hedge funds posted gains in August led by event driven and equity hedge strategies, with the HFRX Event Driven Index gaining +1.10%, and the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index gaining +0.33% for the month, according to the latest data from HFR.

Merger arbitrage managers and special situations equity strategies drove event driven gains as activity in global M&A deals continued through the month. The HFRX Special Situations Index gained +1.08% for the month from exposures to global catalyst-driven, fundamental value equities.

The HFRX Equity Hedge Index meanwhile, posted a gain of +0.27% in August from gains in market neutral and fundamental value strategies partially offset by declines in fundamental growth strategies. The HFRX Market Neutral Index gained +0.66% for the month from gains in mean reverting, factor-based strategies and fundamental value managers. The HFRX Fundamental Value Index was up +0.43% on the back of gains in exposure to large-cap US & European equities, while the HFRX Fundamental Value Index posted a fall of -0.08% from declines concentrated in small-cap US & European equities.

The HFRX Macro/CTA Index was also in negative territory recording a fall of -0.04% for the month led by declines in systematic trend-following managers, while the HFRX Macro Systematic CTA Index was down -0.45% for the month, with US Dollar mixed against most currencies, but falling against the sterling, the euro and the Swiss franc.

The HFRX Relative Value Index posted a decline of -0.15% on the back of falls in convertible arbitrage strategies and multi-strategy managers. The HFRX RV: Multi-Strategy Index declined -0.08% as interest rates increased led by longer dated maturities, while the HFRX Convertible Arbitrage Index declined -0.96% as volatility declined in August.