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Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: Philippe Ferreira, Lyxor AM’s head of research, managed account
platform, said that hedge funds acted as shock absorbers during the wide
market gyrations recorded at the beginning of 2015 as the year started
with a large risk-off move and high volatility on all asset classes.
In its Weekly Brief,
Lyxor said that oil prices, rates and equities went sharply down as
economic activity was below expectations in December and a potential
Greek exit is making the headlines again in Europe. The U.S. dollar
posted strong gains, especially against the Euro, fuelled by the
expectations that the ECB will find a consensus to adopt expansionary
measures as the Eurozone entered deflation.
Ferreira said, "Although the release of the minutes of the 16-17 FOMC
(Federal Open Market Committee) meeting provided some relief, if the
first week of the year can give any sense of the upcoming market
conditions, we are facing more challenging times ahead for risk assets.
The good news is that we can expect downside protection from hedge funds
in these market conditions: In a tough context, they continued to
provide alpha. Indeed, despite a median equity beta still at high levels
(32%), the Lyxor HFI ended the week down only 45ps, while the MSCI World
was down close to 4.0% (between Dec 30th and Jan 6th)."
Hedge funds ended the week on a decent note amid tough market
conditions. The Lyxor Hedge...................... To view our full article Click here
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