Opalesque Exclusive: Credit SuisseTremont Hedge Fund Index returns 4 in May 6.7 YTD best in 9 years

Alternative Market Briefing

Opalesque Exclusive: Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index returns 4% in May, 6.7% YTD, best in 9 years – May and Q1-09 review in numbers

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

By Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque London:

The Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index has just announced a return of 4.06% for the month of May and 6.72% YTD – although the S&P 500 which is at 5.59% (2.96% YTD), and the MSCI World which is at 8.62% (5.41% YTD) did better in May.

It was the largest monthly gain since February 2000 as hedge fund managers have apparently been showing an increased appetite for risk. So there are signs of recovery, and signs of optimism too although many pundits are claiming the economic fundamentals do not justify any kind of optimism and that there may yet be more slumps coming our way.

The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index (see performance table here) did better than the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index, returning 5.58% for May and 9.80% YTD. The Morningstar 1000 Hedge Fund Index posted its largest monthly increase since its January 2003 inception, rising 6.7% and 9.7% YTD. And the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 5.4% in May, also registering its best monthly return in almost a decade.

The worst-performing strategies within the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index were Dedicated Short Bias at -0.55% and -9.02% YTD, and Managed Futures at 0.85% and -5.23% YTD.

None of the HFRI indices were negative in May, and the only YTD negative performances came from Short Bias and Systematic Diversified.

The best performing strategies ......................

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