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“A surprise currency devaluation by the People’s Bank of China on August 11 was interpreted by investors as an indication of a weakening economy, and sparked a global sell-off of risk assets,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Fifteen of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices had losses in August. The Emerging Markets Index dropped 5.39%, its largest loss since May of 2012 when it dropped 5.39%. Emerging Markets have fallen 10.46% in the past three months.

“Emerging markets were hit especially hard as concerns of a global slowdown provoked fears of contagion and triggered sell-offs in commodities as well as Asian currencies, credits, and equities," says Waksman.

Healthcare & Biotechnology lost 4.38% in August, Distressed Securities fell 4.28%, and the Equity Long Bias Index was down 3.37%.

The Equity Short Bias Index was the big winner in August, with an 8.75% gain. Equity Market Neutral was up 0.42%, and Fixed Income Arbitrage added 0.12%.

At the end of August, the Healthcare & Biotechnology Index is up 9.96% for the year, Pacific Rim Equities have gained 5.19%, Merger Arbitrage is up 4.74%, and European Equites have gained 4.39%.

The Distressed Securities Index has lost 5.63% year to date, Emerging Markets are down 3.15%. and the Event Driven Index has lost 0.53%.

The Barclay Fund of Funds Index lost 2.10% in August, but is still up 0.92% in 2015.