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U.S. Dollar Favorite Currency Investment of Hedge Fund Managers in Near Term; Few Fund Managers Expect Greek Sovereign Debt Crisis to Lead to Destruct

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:45:00 +0000

New York, NY – March 9, 2010 – TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge reported that the U.S. dollar is the currency on which hedge fund managers are most bullish in the near term. Six in 10 fund managers cite the greenback as their preferred currency investment over the next three months, according to the February TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Currency Survey of Hedge Fund Managers.

“The debt crisis in Greece, the creditworthiness of other countries in Europe, and the U.S. dollar rally have market participants focused on currencies,” said Vincent Deluard, Global Equity Strategist at TrimTabs. “We think currencies will dominate other investment themes throughout 2010.”

Read the entire TrimTabs Asset Flows into Hedge Funds Press Release by clicking here.

Hedge Funds Post Inflow of $7.1 Billion in January; Hedge Fund Assets Stand at $1.5 Trillion

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:55:00 +0000

New York, NY – March 8, 2010 – TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge reported that all hedge funds posted an estimated inflow of $7.1 billion, or 0.5% of assets, in January 2010. Total hedge fund assets stand at $1.5 trillion, up 23.6% from the April 2009 low, thanks to an unprecedented 11-month winning streak.

“January bucked the trend,” said Sol Waksman, CEO of BarclayHedge. “The first month of the year typically delivers a redemption-driven outflow. The fact that hedge funds managed to attract money is a good sign.”

Read the entire TrimTabs Asset Flows into Hedge Funds Press Release by clicking here.

Fund Launches

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:07:00 +0000

BarclayHedge is now posting new fund launches on our website. Check back often, as we’ll be updating this information daily. To see the latest hedge funds, fund of funds and CTAs that have launched recently or will be launching soon click here. Fund Managers who would like to see their new fund listed on Barclay’s website and featured in the next Insider Report, can submit new fund launch press releases directly to rmiller@barclayhedge.com. Below is a list of the latest fund launches:

DGC Flexible Asset Allocation

Goldvest Bullion Fund Ltd

Taurus Global Resources Hedge Fund Ltd

From the March 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

The TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Currency Survey of Hedge Fund Managers

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:30:00 +0000

The topical study from the March 2010 issue of The Hedge Fund Flow Report. Gain insight into industry trends and hedge fund asset flows before you make your next important decision.

The Greek sovereign debt crisis and the U.S. dollar rally have drawn attention to currencies in the past month. We expect currencies to dominate other investment themes throughout 2010. Massive government spending and extreme monetary policy choices halted the 2008 crisis, but they also dramatically altered government balance sheets and monetary outlooks. We believe the market will adjust to these new realities through trial and error.

We surveyed hedge fund managers and currency traders in the BarclayHedge database about their expectations for the currency market. Specifically, we asked about their favorite currency in the short term, their opinion of the Greek debt crisis, and their view on long-term U.S. interest rates.

Our findings . . .

Accredited investors can read the entire article for free.

From the March 2010 issue of The Hedge Fund Flow Report. The Hedge Fund Flow Report combines the accuracy of the BarclayHedge database with the analytical insight of TrimTabs Investment Research. The report is generated by TrimTabs Investment Research using the most current data on thousands of hedge funds. An annual subscription includes 12 monthly updates as well as a spreadsheet containing historical flow aggregates by category.

To download a free sample of the entire TrimTabs Hedge Fund Flow Report, simply fill out this short request form.

Barclay CTA Index Down 1.48% in January; 60% of CTAs Start 2010 in the Hole

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:58:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, February 17, 2010– Managed futures lost 1.48% in January according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Unanticipated appreciation of the US Dollar together with falling commodity and stock prices proved to be a toxic mix, resulting in January losses for 60 percent of CTAs,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Read the entire Managed Futures Press Release by clicking here.

Barclay Hedge Fund Index Down 0.29% in January; Hedge Funds Start 2010 in the Red

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:45:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, February 16, 2010 – Hedge funds lost 0.29% in January according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Equity investors expressed their disappointment with White House announcements that the administration would seek to curtail risky behavior of U.S. banks,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Read the entire Hedge Fund Press Release by clicking here.

Hedge Funds Post Outflow of $3.8 Billion in December; Hedge Fund Assets Hit 12-Month High of $1.5 Trillion

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:25:00 +0000

New York, NY – February 9, 2010 – TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge reported that all hedge funds posted an estimated outflow of $3.8 billion in December 2009. December’s outflow is the industry’s first since July 2009. At the same time, hedge fund assets grew to a 12-month high of $1.5 trillion thanks to an unprecedented 10-month winning streak.

“December’s relatively small outflow is almost certainly seasonal, a product of quarter-end and year-end redemptions,” said Sol Waksman, CEO of BarclayHedge. “Hedge funds experienced outflows in December in each of the past five years, and we suspect inflows have already resumed.”

In addition, funds of hedge funds posted an estimated outflow of $6.3 billion in December, bringing redemptions for all of 2009 to $180.9 billion. Funds of funds returned only 10.24% in 2009, less than half of the industry’s average 23.9% gain. “Funds of hedge funds turned extremely risk-averse after the late 2008 sell-off,” said Vincent Deluard, Global Equity Strategist at TrimTabs. “Their conservative strategy allocation and large cash balances hurt their returns during this rebound.”

Read the entire TrimTabs Asset Flows into Hedge Funds Press Release by clicking here.

Lies of Capital Lines

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:17:00 +0000

By Kirill Ilinski, Fusion Asset Management and Alexis Pokrovski, Laboratory of Quantum Networks, Institute for Physics, St-Petersburg State University

In their paper they examine in detail the qualitative effects caused by the investors' sensitivity to mark-to-market and price of liquidity. They find that by chasing returns and prompting investment managers to deliver unsustainable performance, the investment community damages its own chances through a greedy search for yield.

Download the full article here.

From the February 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

December Hedge Fund and CTA Performance

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:13:00 +0000

Hedge funds had a positive month in December reflected by gains in sixteen of our eighteen indices. The average return for the 2,640 hedge funds (ex. FoFs) that have so far reported a December return is +1.97%. The estimates for January, along with the number of funds reporting for each of our 18 sectors can be found at the link below. These indices are being continually updated as current returns for the underlying hedge funds are recorded into our system. As of this writing, 11 of 18 hedge fund sectors are showing positive returns for January.

Commodity Trading Advisor performance for December as measured by the Barclay CTA Index averaged -1.50%. January's estimate based on the performance of the Barclay BTOP50 Index is -1.55%.

Hedge Fund Indices Managed Futures Indices

From the February 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

Fund Launches

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:35:00 +0000

3 Degrees Credit Opportunities Fund

Brasada Strategic Growth Fund, LP

Brasada Value Opportunities Fund, LP

Cirrus Capital Management, LLC

Crystal Capital International Fund SPC

CSHG Fix Fund

Diversified Dynamic Solution Fund

Faulkner Capital FX; Metals & Mining

Montague Financial (S&P Abs Return)

Permian Fund, L.P.

Stella Capital Al-Aqarat Fund, LP

Stella Capital Real Estate Opportunity

Straight Line Opportunity, L.P.

VOC Commodity Alpha

From the February 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

Do Hedge Fund Investors Care About “Fat-Tails” Risk?

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:58:00 +0000

The topical study from the February 2010 issue of The Hedge Fund Flow Report. Gain insight into industry trends and hedge fund asset flows before you make your next important decision.

Many academic studies teach; and the collapse in equity prices in 2008 reminds, that hedge funds are subject to brutal sell-offs one would not expect looking solely at the mean and variance of their historical returns. Kurtosis measures the risk of a highly implausible event coming to pass more frequently than one would expect from a normally distributed variable. Nassim Taleb popularized this notion in The Black Swan, his well-timed 2007 book.
We used the BarclayHedge database to measure the kurtosis of hedge fund returns and how it impacts hedge fund flows. We were especially interested to know if kurtosis is priced in, or if non-normal returns offer arbitrage opportunities for sophisticated investors.
We believe this study supplements the existing literature for three reasons:

Its simplicity - Our goal was not to run a battery of complex econometric tests on the data, but rather 1. to see whether hedge fund investors can hedge themselves from the problem of kurtosis. . . .

Accredited investors can read the entire article for free.

From the February 2010 issue of The Hedge Fund Flow Report. The Hedge Fund Flow Report combines the accuracy of the BarclayHedge database with the analytical insight of TrimTabs Investment Research. The report is generated by TrimTabs Investment Research using the most current data on thousands of hedge funds. An annual subscription includes 12 monthly updates as well as a spreadsheet containing historical flow aggregates by category.

To download a free sample of the entire TrimTabs Hedge Fund Flow Report, simply fill out this short request form.

Managed Futures Lose 0.10% in 2009; Barclay CTA Index Down 1.43% in December

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:58:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, January 19, 2010 – Managed futures lost 1.43% in December and CTAs ended the year down 0.10% according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Unexpected trend reversals in December erased much of November’s profits,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Read the entire Managed Futures Press Release by clicking here.

55% of Hedge Funds Recover from 2008 Losses; Barclay Hedge Fund Index Gains 24.14% in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:07:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, January 14, 2010– Hedge funds rebounded from 2008 losses with a 24.14% gain in 2009 according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Based on our calculations, close to 55 percent of single manager hedge funds now have a profit for the time period from June 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “Of those funds that are still in negative territory, the average loss is currently at 17 percent.”

Read the entire Hedge Fund Press Release by clicking here.

Hedge Fund Inflows Hit 18 Month High of $18.7 Billion in November; Hedge Fund Launches Fell to Record Low in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:59:00 +0000

New York, NY – January 12, 2010 – TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge reported that all hedge funds posted an estimated inflow of $18.7 billion in November, more than double the inflow of $8.2 billion in October. The inflow in November was the largest since May 2008.

“Flows into hedge funds are back to pre-crisis levels,” said Sol Waksman, CEO of BarclayHedge. “Nevertheless, the inflow of $54 billion in the latest four months reversed only a small portion of the redemptions of $402 billion from September 2008 through July 2009.”

In addition, funds of hedge funds took in $4.9 billion in November, their first significant inflow since March 2008.

Read the entire TrimTabs Asset Flows into Hedge Funds Press Release by clicking here.

Hedge Funds Misrepresent Facts? Of course they do…

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:07:00 +0000

Recent work has shown that 1 in 5 hedge fund managers misrepresent facts during due diligence meetings (Brown, Goetzmann, Liang and Schwarz, 2009). This study takes a closer look at examples of misrepresentations and omissions, and explains the steps to take to uncover the truth about managers, their funds and their history.

Read the full study here.

Hedge Fund Due Diligence Reports

BarclayHedge and SwissAnalytics have teamed up to offer hedge fund and CTA due diligence. As a BarclayHedge member receive an exclusive 10% discount on your first Hedge Fund Due Diligence Report from SwissAnalytics.

SwissAnalytics offers a comprehensive approach to systematically score each fund on more than 140 qualitative risk factors. SwissAnalytics researchers conduct full-service due diligence on the entire range of hedge fund and CTA strategies and managers located anywhere in the world in a timely and cost-effective manner.

To download a sample Due Diligence Report, simply fill out this short request form.

Fund Launches

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:03:00 +0000

A2M Lion Fund

AN Commodity Fund

APAC APEMM

Belltower Fund

CAM Distressed/Credit Opportunities Fund

FCP Finalties Equities (UCITS3)

Galloway Global Fixed Income Fund

Global Wealth STP

Herschel Absolute Return Fund

KeyPoint Real Estate Opportunity Fund LP

Lionhart Enhanced Opportunities Fund Ltd

MAG MA2 Fund, LP.

Merrant Select Market Neutral

Northlight European Fundamental Credit

Ocean Capital China Macro Fund

Point Defiance Microcap Fund

Quest Brazil Equity Fund

SEAL Capital Global Strategy

The Deuce

Tradex Global Liquid 50 Portfolio

YA Global Investments II Ltd

From the January 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

Detecting Crowded Trades in Currency Funds

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:53:00 +0000

By Momtchil Pojarliev, Hathersage Capital Management LLC and Richard M. Levich, Finance Department, New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business

In their paper, they propose a methodology to measure crowded trades and apply it to professional currency managers. They also offer useful insights regarding the popularity of certain trades – in currencies, gold, or other assets – among hedge funds.

Download the full article here.

From the January 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

November Hedge and CTA Performance

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:50:00 +0000

Hedge funds had a positive month in November reflected by gains in fourteen of our eighteen indices. The average return for the 2,682 hedge funds (ex. FoFs) that have so far reported a November return is +1.33%. The estimates for December, along with the number of funds reporting for each of our 18 sectors can be found at the link below. These indices are being continually updated as current returns for the underlying hedge funds are recorded into our system. As of this writing, 16 of 18 hedge fund sectors are showing positive returns for December.

Commodity Trading Advisor performance for November as measured by the Barclay CTA Index averaged +2.28%. December's estimate based on the performance of the Barclay BTOP50 Index is -2.34%.

Hedge Fund Indices Managed Futures Indices

From the January 2010 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

Creative Destruction in the Hedge Fund Industry

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 17:34:00 +0000

The topical study from the January 2010 issue of The Hedge Fund Flow Report. Gain insight into industry trends and hedge fund asset flows before you make your next important decision.

Three main factors impact the size of the hedge fund industry - its returns, the flows into existing funds and the net creation (or liquidation) of hedge funds. Since we comment regularly on hedge fund flows and returns, we focused on hedge fund creations and liquidations.

We found that:

The hedge fund industry lives in a very Darwinian world, i.e. 6.5% of hedge funds (in terms of assets) disappear every year while 6.9% are created. At this pace, it takes only 15 years to fully replace the hedge fund industry.

The pace of hedge fund creation has slowed as the industry has matured. Fund launches represented 4.1% of hedge fund assets in 2008 and 2009, against 10.5% in 2002 and 2003.

In terms of assets, liquidations have exceeded new fund launches in each of the past four years.

2009 was the worst year on record for fund launches. Fewer funds were launched and they started with far fewer assets (an average of $452 million …

Accredited investors can read the entire article for free.

From the January 2010 issue of The Hedge Fund Flow Report. The Hedge Fund Flow Report combines the accuracy of the BarclayHedge database with the analytical insight of TrimTabs Investment Research. The report is generated by TrimTabs Investment Research using the most current data on thousands of hedge funds. An annual subscription includes 12 monthly updates as well as a spreadsheet containing historical flow aggregates by category.

To download a free sample of the entire TrimTabs Hedge Fund Flow Report, simply fill out this short request form.

Barclay BTOP FX Index Components Chosen for 2010; 12 Currency Traders to Provide Daily Data

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:35:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, January 8, 2010 – BarclayHedge announced today the names of the twelve currency programs that will comprise the Barclay BTOP FX Index for the year 2010.

Launched in January 2005, the BTOP FX is the first daily index of currency traders and has monitored selected trader’s returns on a daily basis for the past five years.

“The BTOP FX Index seeks to replicate the overall composition of the currency sector of the managed futures industry with regard to trading style and overall market exposure,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Read the entire Managed Futures Press Release by clicking here.

Managed Futures Gain 2.15% in November; Barclay CTA Index Up 1.25% YTD

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:28:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, December 17, 2009–Managed futures gained 2.15% in November according to the Barclay CTA Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“Fears of a default by Dubai World coupled with growing confidence that central bankers would keep interest rates low provided excellent profits for properly positioned interest rate trades,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Read the entire Managed Futures Press Release by clicking here.

Hedge Funds Back On Track in November; Barclay Hedge Fund Index Gains 1.48%

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:27:00 +0000

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, December 16, 2009– Hedge funds gained 1.48% in November according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

“After a slight pullback in October, hedge funds regained their upward momentum in November,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

Read the entire Hedge Fund Press Release by clicking here.

Fund Launches

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:15:00 +0000

Beach Horizon LLP US Onshore Fund

Global Opportunities Program

Pharos Micro Agriculture Fund

From the December 2009 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.

Has There Been Excessive Speculation in the US Oil Futures Markets?

noreply@blogger.com (BarclayHedge) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:05:00 +0000

By Hilary Till, Research Associate, EDHEC-Risk Institute and Principal, Premia Capital Management, LLC

In her paper she examines whether speculative position-taking has been excessive relative to commercial hedging needs in the exchange-traded oil derivatives markets over the past three years.

Download the full article here.

From the December 2009 issue of Barclay's Insider Report. Accredited investors can subscribe to the full newsletter for free.