Tzur Management and the Gilboa Fund of Funds have launched the Tzur Gilboa Israeli Hedge Fund Index (TGI) which tracks the performance of Israeli hedge funds.
The index will be released monthly on the newly established website www.tzurgilboa.com.
For purposes of the index, an Israeli hedge fund includes any open-ended fund registered, managed, or significantly invested in Israel. The fund must manage assets of at least NIS10 million in order to be included.
Calculation of TGI is conducted by taking an equally-weighted average of all funds that meet the criteria at the time of calculation. As of September 2014, the index includes performance data for 49 Israeli hedge funds, and covers the period from January 2007 through today.
Based on the TGI index, Israeli hedge funds have returned 6.8 per cent this year, through 31 August, which is slightly below the S&P figure of 8.4 per cent and above the 4.7 per cent return of the TA100 for the same period. Israeli funds returned 15 per cent and 19 per cent for 2012 and 2013 respectively.
The index includes data as far back as 2007 when the nine funds in operation returned 9 per cent. Since inception, the index has returned 126 per cent, significantly higher than the S&P and the TA100 which returned 41 per cent and 37 per cent respectively. These results were achieved with less than half of the volatility of the markets.
Eran Barak, a partner of Gilboa FoF, says: “TGI data clearly indicates significant Alpha being created by Israeli hedge funds, and highlights the expression of Israeli creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in the financial industry.”
Yitz Raab, CEO of Tzur, adds: “An index such as TGI will increase awareness of the talented fund managers operating within the Israeli hedge fund industry.”
