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Hedge Funds Returns Head Upward in August

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, September 12, 2006 - After three straight months of losses, hedge funds gained 0.97% in August, according to flash estimates for the Barclay Hedge Fund Index.

"Equities in both developed countries and emerging markets gained ground in August," said Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group.

"We see those gains reflected in the positive performance of equity-based hedge funds that are somewhat directional in market orientation."

Overall, 14 of Barclay's 18 hedge fund indexes were up in August. The Healthcare and Biotechnology Index jumped 3.73%, Technology gained 3.05%, Equity Long Bias was up 1.71%, and Emerging Markets rose 1.70%.

"At this point, Healthcare and Biotechnology is the strongest performing hedge fund sector in 2006, gaining 9.86% over the past eight months," says Waksman.

Equity Short Bias lost 2.11% in August, Equity Market Neutral dropped 0.92%, and Global Macro Index fell 0.55%.

"Short sellers got caught off-guard this month. They're obviously going to get hurt in an up-market."

"Global Macro funds had a difficult time in August due to a large decline in crude oil prices coupled with a directionless currency market."

Year-to-date, 17 out of 18 Barclay indexes are in positive territory, gaining between 1.22% and 9.86%. Only the Pacific Rim Index has lost money, down 2.40% in 2006. The Barclay Hedge Fund Index is up 6.67% for the year.

Click here to view ten 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@barclaygrp.com for more commentary or background.

The Barclay Group, founded in 1985, actively tracks more than 5,700 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.