Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: The lack of decisive market trends and uncertainty about the mood of investors as they head back from their summer break will not last indefinitely, said Lyxor Asset Management in its Weekly Briefing. Market moves will quickly reemerge as the industry heads into September.
The tone from the U.S. jobs report, and the big three meetings (ECB, BoJ and Fed) will be closely monitored. Additionally, the G20 summit, key Chinese economic releases, and the first U.S. presidential debate at the end of September are on the radar. They are likely to generate more trading opportunities for hedge funds, Lyxor added.
Jean-Baptiste Berthon, senior strategist at Lyxor AM, commented, "Hedge funds modestly increased risk over the course of the summer, though heterogeneously across strategies. While September seasonality has statistically been supportive for risk assets, hedge funds remain conservatively positioned."
Hedge funds mostly flat
Lyxor also reported that the Lyxor Hedge Fund index was flat from the week ending Aug. 23 (-2.0% YTD). It said that last week was uneventful for most strategies except for merger and macro funds. Event driven outperformed thanks to merger funds’ gains on the back of M&A activity in the healthcare and agrochemical sectors. Global macro underperformed due to their shorts on U.S. bonds and long USD trades.
Berthon added, "This week (August 16-23) was unev...................... To view our full article Click here
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