Opalesque Industry Update - Hedge fund managers were up 1.35% in March, trailing behind to the S&P 500 which was up 3.58% over the month. Around 61% of global hedge funds have posted positive returns in March and 46.0% of them have maintained positive performance over the first quarter of the year.
On an asset-weighted basis, hedge funds were up 1.37% in March, as captured by the Eurekahedge Asset Weighted Index - USD. Billion dollar hedge funds were up 1.45% over the month, erasing the losses they incurred in the two previous months, compared to the 1.23% and 0.86% returns of their small and medium size counterparts respectively. On a year-to-date basis, billion dollar hedge funds were up 0.81% on average, outperforming their medium and small sized peers by 2.10% and 1.67% respectively over the first quarter of the year. The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index was up 0.29% in March, outperforming DAX by 0.52% during the month. European equities have posted limited upside compared to their US counterparts, driven by the hawkish European Central Bank. In the same vein, although Ukraine and Russia were in peace negotiations, uncertainties about the said event posed a downside risk to the region's equity market. In terms of year-to-date return, European hedge funds were down 3.39%. The Eurekahedge CTA/Managed Futures Hedge Fund Index was up 4.59% in March, recording its strongest monthly performance since 2007. Fund managers benefitted from higher commodity prices particularly oil, which could be exacerbated further by a potential banning of Russian oil by European countries. In terms of year-to-date performance, CTA/managed futures managers were up 6.84%, posting their best quarterly performance since 2008. The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index was up 1.09% in March, thanks to the positive performance of US equities with the S&P 500 up 3.58% over the same month. US equities shrugged off the threat of higher inflation and interest rates and inched higher during the month, supported by strong corporate earnings and easing tensions in Eastern Europe. On a year-to-date basis, North American hedge funds were down -1.73% in the first quarter of 2022. The Eurekahedge Greater China Hedge Fund Index was down 4.96% in March, outperforming the underlying equity market in the region by 3.67% and 1.11% as represented by the Shenzhen and Shanghai Composite respectively during the month. Greater China hedge funds recorded their eighth month of losses over the last nine months as the slowing growth in China and delisting of Chinese companies in the US have resulted in a weak performance in the region's equity market. The Hang Seng was down 5.99% in 2022 and ended the month of March trading at its 68th month low. The Eurekahedge Eastern Europe & Russia Hedge Fund Index was down 19.98% as of February 2022, outperforming the underlying equity market in the region as represented by the STOXX Eastern Europe 50 by 9.13%. Fund managers recorded heavy losses owing to the massive selling of risk assets throughout the month. On a year-to-date basis, Eastern Europe and Russian hedge funds were down -24.09%, outperforming the Stoxx Eastern Europe 50 which declined -30.21%. Fund managers focusing on cryptocurrencies, as represented by the Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index gained 6.91% in March, bringing their Q1 return to -10.61%. Cryptocurrencies posted a strong recovery during the month as Bitcoin was up 24.82% in March, erasing most of its losses posted in January and February.
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Industry Updates
Around 61% of global hedge funds post positive returns in March
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
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