Hedge fund industry assets continued to grow in September with USD10.2 billion in monthly inflows. September’s inflows represented an increase of 0.22 per cent of industry assets, according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator published by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.
Hedge fund industry assets continued to grow in September with USD10.2 billion in monthly inflows. September’s inflows represented an increase of 0.22 per cent of industry assets, according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator published by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.
September was the seventh straight month of hedge fund inflows, a period during which the industry attracted USD154.0 billion in new assets. A USD49.7 billion trading loss on the month brought total hedge fund industry assets under management to USD4.53 trillion as September ended.
“While the uptrend in Hedge Fund popularity can be clearly observed across geographic boundaries, a look at subsector trends over the trailing twelve months reveals that not every fund is a ‘belle of the ball’,” SAYS Ben Crawford, Head of Research at BarclayHedge. “In point of fact, the subsectors are clearly divided between the ‘belles’ and the ‘wallflowers, wicked step-sisters and the like’. A look inside of these subsectors reveals even more vividly that this extraordinary time has both had both big winners and big losers.”
Some two-thirds of hedge fund subsectors tracked experienced inflows in September. Sector Specific funds attracted USD2.5 billion, 0.7 per cent of assets, Fixed Income funds added USD2.4 billion, 0.2 per cent of assets, Multi-Strategy Funds saw USD1.8 billion in inflows, 0.4 per cent of assets, Equity Long/Short funds brought in USD1.6 billion, 0.9 per cent of assets, and Merger Arbitrage funds experienced USD1.3 billion in inflows, 1.5 per cent of assets.
Among the subsectors experiencing net redemptions in September were Emerging Markets – Latin America funds shedding -USD1.3 billion, -11.3 per cent of assets, Macro funds with -USD893.0 million in outflows, -0.4 per cent of assets, Emerging Markets – Global funds with -USD671.2 million in redemptions, -0.3 per cent of assets, and Option Strategies funds with -USD385.9 million in outflows, -0.8 per cent of assets.
The managed futures industry experienced a second straight month of net redemptions in September, reporting USD641.6 million in outflows. Three of four CTA subsectors tracked posted inflows for the month, however. Hybrid CTAs added USD204.1 million, 1.1 per cent of assets, Multi Advisor Futures Funds brought in nearly USD116.0 million, 0.9 per cent of assets, and Discretionary CTAs saw USD59.9 million in inflows, 0.4 per cent of assets. Systematic CTAs were alone for the month with -USD905.6 million in redemptions, for a reduction of -0.3 per cent in assets.
For the 12 months through September the global hedge fund industry experienced USD194.4 billion in inflows. A USD368.4 billion trading profit over the period brought total industry assets to the USD4.53 trillion figure as September ended, up from USD4.52 trillion at the end of August and up from USD3.41 trillion a year earlier.
Eleven of the 19 hedge fund subsectors tracked posted 12-month inflows through September. Fixed Income funds led the list of subsectors attracting new assets adding USD79.5 billion, 10.3 per cent of assets, while Sector Specific funds saw USD56.8 billion in inflows, 25.3 per cent of assets, and Multi-Strategy funds brought in USD28.5 billion, 8.2 per cent of assets.
Other subsectors with notable inflows included Event Driven funds which brought in USD25.7 billion, 14.0 per cent of assets, Emerging Markets – Asia funds adding USD20.9 billion, 16.2 per cent of assets, and Equity Long-Only funds with USD14.4 billion in inflows, 9.7 per cent of assets.
Subsectors with the largest 12-month outflows included Balanced (Stocks & Bonds) funds with -USD25.4 billion in redemptions, -5.4 per cent of assets, Equity Long Bias funds shedding -USD14.9 billion, -4.6 per cent of assets, Macro funds with -USD12.7 billion in outflows, -7.1 per cent of assets, Equity Market Neutral funds with -USD4.8 billion in redemptions, -7.9 per cent of assets, and Equity Long/Short funds with -USD1.8 billion in outflows, -1.1 per cent of assets.
Over the 12-month period through September the managed futures industry experienced USD8.0 billion in inflows. A USD27.9 billion trading profit over the period contributed to the industry’s total assets of USD343.0 billion at month’s end, up from USD303.6 billion a year earlier.
All four CTA subsectors continued to post net inflows for the 12-month period. Systematic CTAs added USD3.1 billion through September, 1.1 per cent of assets, Discretionary CTAs also brought in USD3.1 billion, 26.4 per cent of assets, Hybrid CTAs added USD1.9 billion, 21.1 per cent of assets, and Multi Advisor Futures Funds saw USD891.3 million in inflows, 7.8 per cent of assets.
