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From Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia – Hedge funds from across strategies posted nine straight months of positive gains as the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge reported that the sector profited 0.42% in February, bringing year-to-date returns at 2.92%.

"Equity managers were able to report profits in spite of quite a few bumps in the road," said Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. He added, "European managers largely avoided downdrafts in Italian and Portuguese equities and Asian managers side-stepped potential losses in Hong Kong and India."

At least 16 of the 18 strategies monitored by Barclays reported gains last month. The Barclay Pacific Rim Equities Index was up 2.12%, European Equities added 0.92%, the Event Driven Index was up 0.83%, Equity Long Bias gained 0.74%, Distressed Securities gained 0.71%, and Merger Arbitrage rose 0.68%.

He continued, "Distressed Securities managers benefited from a tightening of US corporate and high yield credit spreads. An increase in the dollar value of M&A activity during the month provided trading opportunities for Merger Arbitrage and Event Driven funds."

The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 0.17% in February.

On the losing side, the Global Macro Index was down 0.30% in February, and the Technology Index slipped 0.05%. The Equity Sh......................

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