Industry Updates

HFRU Global Hedge Fund Index up 0.63% to mid February, up 1.46% year to date

Thursday, February 21, 2013

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Opalesque Industry Update - UCITS hedge funds extended gains through mid-February, with the HFRU Global Hedge Fund Index gaining +0.63%, with positive contributions across all main strategies.

HFRU Equity Hedge Index gained +0.99% through mid-February, with positive contributions from exposure to Technology, Telecom, Financial, Emerging Markets and US and European small cap equity.

HFRU Event Driven Index gained +0.58% through mid-February, as M&A activity surged on both strategic and financial transactions. Activity spanned across range of deals including Dell, Heinz, American-US Airways, Liberty Global /Virgin Media, Dish Network/Clearwire, and including continuing activist and special situations activity in Apple and Herbalife.

HFRU Relative Value Index gained +0.57% through mid-February, as corporate credit and deal spreads continued to tighten while government bond yields remained steady, with positive contributions from Convertible Arbitrage, Real Estate & Property and Fixed Income Arbitrage exposures.

HFRU Macro Index gained +0.24% through mid-February, with positive contributions from Currency, Commodity and CTA strategies as currency trading volume spiked on activity in Euro, Swiss, US dollar and short Japanese Yen positions.

Hedge Fund Research's mid February 2013 performance notes revealed that global equity markets extended 2013 gains through mid-February, as both active currency exposure and increased M&A activity contributed to hedge fund performance gains. European equities were mixed across regions, with gains in UK, Switzerland and Sweden offset by declines in France, Germany and Italy; Asian equities continued recent strong performance, with gains across Japan, China, Australia and the Philippines.

US equities gained across most market capitalization, with leadership from small cap and value exposures. Semiconductors and Oil Services led sector gains, with additional contributions from REITS and Non-Cyclicals. The US dollar posted gains against most major currencies through mid-February, including the Euro, Swiss Franc, British Pound Sterling and the Japanese Yen; US/Yen traded actively to a 33-month high in early February on expectations of continued Bank of Japan stimulus.

Despite the active currency trading, sovereign yields were little changed across US, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands through mid-February, and modest increases in UK and Italy. Platinum, Oil and Lumber led commodity gains which were offset by declines in Natural Gas, Silver & Wheat. M&A activity spiked through mid-month, with activity across range of deals and continuing activist and special situations activity contributing to strong Event Driven performance.

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