Opalesque Industry Update - Emerging Markets (EM) hedge funds gained +4.7 percent YTD through April, suggesting that many EM managers have strategically navigated through much of the still-unfolding EU-centric sovereign debt crisis, according to Hedge Fund Research (HFR), the leading provider of hedge fund industry data. In addition to the significant weakness in the sovereign credit market, funds also encountered volatility in currency, commodity and underlying equity markets, with this volatility accelerating through 2Q10. Risk-conscious investors repositioned capital in 1Q10, paring investments in Emerging Asia while adding to exposure in Latin America and Multi-EM as total capital invested in EM hedge funds increased to $98 Billion. Strong first quarter performance resulted in a $5.3 Billion increase in EM AUM, which easily offset a small investor net capital outflow of $560 million; this marked the sixth quarter out of the last seven in which investors withdrew capital from EM hedge funds. Some geographic rotation was evident in the most recent data, as redemptions from Asia (ex-Japan) and Russia/Eastern Europe-focused funds exceeded $1 billion combined, while investors added over $500 million to Latin America and funds investing in Multiple Emerging Markets. Hedge fund managers used a variety of tools to generate gains through the first four months of the year, including not only tactical exposure adjustment but effective use of protection from credit default swaps (CDS) and various currency hedging techniques. While sovereign weakness is presently concentrated in EU countries, many EM managers began to deal with an escalation of EM sovereign credit risk over six months ago (when risk was focused in the Middle East) by using CDS protection to insulate their portfolios from these losses and produce gains if the sovereign credit risks increased. Additional findings from HFR include:
HFR coming to Asia, announces Industry Summit: Asia 2010 Hedge Fund Research has also announced that it will host its HFR Industry Summit: Asia 2010 in Hong Kong on September 16th & 17th at The Four Seasons Hong Kong. The HFR Industry Summit is the hedge fund industry’s premier private investor engagement, hosted annually in Chicago and London, and this will mark the event’s inaugural appearance in Asia. Corporate website: www.hedgefundresearch.com - FG |
Industry Updates
Emerging markets hedge funds navigate sovereign crisis gaining 4.7% through April - HFR
Thursday, May 20, 2010
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