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Barclay Hedge Fund Index Gains 1.35% in January
FAIRFIELD, Iowa, February 7, 2007 - Hedge funds got off to a fast start in 2007, gaining 1.35% in January, according to flash estimates from the Barclay Hedge Fund Index.
"Equity markets in developed countries did quite well in January," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group. "Only Ireland and the U.K. registered losses for the month."
Barclay's Merger Arbitrage Index was up 3.21% in January, Equity Long Bias gained 2.48%, Healthcare and Biotechnology rose 2.26%, and the Multi Strategy Index gained 2.23%.
Last year's strongest performer, the Barclay Emerging Markets Index, rose 1.21% in January. Emerging Markets gained 22.45% in 2006.
"Although hedge funds trading in emerging markets did well, many of the more popular emerging economies saw equity declines during the month," says Waksman. "Equity markets in China and Russia had losses of 3.8% and 5.15% respectively.
All but one of Barclay's 18 hedge fund indices had positive returns in January, 2007. Equity Short Bias lost 1.37%.
"Given the recent strength of the US stock market, it is not surprising that short-sellers got caught out in the cold in January."
Click here to view 27 years of Barclay Hedge Fund Index data.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends.
Call 641-472-3456 or email sol@barclayhedge.com for more commentary or background.
The Barclay Group, founded in 1985, actively tracks 6,000 hedge funds and managed futures programs. Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indexes and eight managed futures indexes.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide utilize Barclay's indexes as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
