Preqin’s All Hedge Fund Index rose 2.4% in Q4 2024, taking annual gains to 12.6%, and outpacing both public equities and bonds, with the MSCI World Index declining 0.1% and the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index down 5.1% for the quarter.
The Hedge Funds Q4 2024: Preqin Quarterly Update shows that hedge funds saw mixed returns throughout the quarter, with November seeing the strongest gains at 3.7%, fuelled by a positive market response to the US election results.
October was flat at -0.1%.
December posted a 1.2% decline, as concerns over higher US inflation and strong employment data led to fears of delayed Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.
Multi-strategy and relative value were the best-performing strategies in Q4, returning 3.26% and 1.80%, respectively.
Equity hedge funds meanwhile, saw only a 0.09% gain for the quarter.
Cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds soared, with a 38.3% gain in Q4, including a 45% surge in November, largely driven by bitcoin’s price increase.
According to the report, hedge fund investors are adjusting their strategies for 2025, prioritising risk mitigation, with global macro funds seeing an increase in investor interest, rising to 46% in Q4, up from 36% in Q3.
Relative value strategies also gained traction, growing from 28% to 40%.
