Industry Updates

TrimTabs & BarclayHedge: Hedge funds post inflow of $16.6bn in February, assets stand at 16 month high of $1.5tln

Monday, April 12, 2010

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Opalesque Industry Updates - TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge reported that the hedge fund industry posted an estimated inflow of $16.6 billion, or 1.1% of assets, in February 2010. Hedge funds showed a positive return in each of the past 12 months, and industry assets stand at a 16-month high of $1.5 trillion.

“Hedge funds sport a stellar win streak, and the average fund outperformed the S&P 500 last year,” said Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “Money is chasing performance.”

Distressed securities funds posted the biggest inflow (4.2% of assets) in February. Emerging markets funds lost money (0.1% of assets) for a second straight month, despite returning 65.6% in the past year. Funds of hedge funds continued to perform poorly.

“Funds of funds have underperformed the industry by a fat 13.9% in the past year,” said Vincent Deluard, Global Equity Strategist at TrimTabs. “And as a consequence, they continue to bleed assets - $17.4 billion in the past three months.”

In a research note, TrimTabs investigates hedge fund flows and returns by country. Canadian and Chinese funds performed the best in the past decade, while funds in Japan and Switzerland performed the worst. Britain boasts the best returns for emerging markets funds.

“The U.S. portion of the industry sank to 60% in the past 10 years,” Deluard noted. “We’re losing market share. The hedge fund industry has gone global.”

The TrimTabs/BarclayHedge database tracks hedge fund flows on a monthly basis. The TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Flow Report provides detailed analysis of these flows as well as relevant topical studies. Corporate website: Source

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