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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, May 14, 2015 — Hedge funds were up 1.25% in April, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index has gained 3.82% year to date.
“Rising stock prices provided the tailwind for equity hedge funds in April,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
“Additionally, a rally in US high yield bonds coupled with a sell-off in high grade bonds caused credit spreads to tighten, which helped boost returns for fixed income funds.”
Overall, 14 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices had gains in April. The Emerging Markets Index jumped 5.13%, Pacific Rim Equities gained 2.59%, Convertible Arbitrage was up 1.41%, the Event Driven Index gained 1.09%, and Distressed Securities rose 0.98%.
The Healthcare & Biotechnology Index was down 1.71% in April, Global Macro lost 1.29%, Equity Market Neutral was down 0.71%, and the Multi Strategy Index slipped 0.46%.
“In a sharp sell off, the US Dollar gave back almost one-fourth of its gains of the past year. This combined with an unexpected increase in global interest rates hit macro funds hard, and gave the index its worst loss since August 2013 when it dropped 1.71%,” says Waksman.
After four months, the Emerging Markets Index leads all hedge fund strategies with a 7.53% gain, Healthcare & Biotechnology is up 6.79%, Pacific Rim Equities have gained 5.41%, European Equities are up 4.96%, and the Merger Arbitrage Index has added 3.66%.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 0.51% in April, and is up 3.28% for the year.
Click here to view five years of Barclay Hedge Fund Index data, or to download 18 years of monthly data.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends. For more commentary or background, call 641-472-3456 or email swaksman@barclayhedge.com.
BarclayHedge is the global leader in providing independent, research-based information services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 1985, Barclay currently maintains data on more than 6,100 hedge funds, fund of funds, and CTAs. No one has been in the business of collecting alternative investment data longer than BarclayHedge.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms, and private banks worldwide utilize BarclayHedge indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
