Alt Investments
Hedge Funds Gained In Q3; Directional Strategies Scored Biggest Returns
Hedge funds delivered total returns on average of 3.8 per
cent in the first three months of 2013, and up 1.1 per cent in
March from the
previous month, lagging behind the rise in the US stock market,
data showed, with
the vast majority of the star performers being directional equity
funds.
In the first three months of this year, the S&P 500
Total Return measure of equities was up 10.6 per cent and up by
3.74 per cent
in March, Evesment, a technology and research firm, said.
Among the large funds (those of more than $1 billion of
assets), returns were 3.37 per cent in Q3; among mid-range funds
of between
$250 million and $1 billion, returns were 3.09 per cent, and
among smaller
funds (less than $250 million), returns were 3.65 per cent.
Equity strategies delivered 4.76 per cent returns in the
third quarter; credit strategies delivered 2.70 per cent, and
volatility/options strategies were 1.23 per cent. Foreign
exchange strategies
were up by just 0.18 per cent, while commodity-based strategies
lost ground,
down by 1.66 per cent.
Long/short equity hedge funds were the outstanding strategy
class, with returns of 5.5 per cent, while managed futures ranked
bottom of the
heap, at 0.71 per cent in the quarter.
