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FAIRFIELD, Iowa, April 9, 2007– Hedge fund returns are up for the ninth straight month, gaining 0.88% in March, according to flash estimates from the Barclay Hedge Fund Index.
“Equity prices in most developed countries fared well in March, as national indices rose in all major markets except Japan and Ireland,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group.
“Fears of a hedge fund blow-up stemming from problems in the U.S. sub-prime lending sector seem to have been unfounded.”
Since July of 2006, the Barclay Hedge Fund Index has gained 9.43%, an average of slightly more than 1.00% monthly return for the past nine months.
“Although US equities have outperformed hedge funds during the past three quarters, 13.53 percent versus 9.43 percent, hedge funds provided a higher risk-adjusted return as measured by Sharpe Ratio, 3.56 versus 2.71,” says Waksman.
Sixteen of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices showed gains in March. Barclay’s Emerging Markets Index rose 1.80%, Event Driven was up 1.54%, European Equities grew by 1.51%, Fixed Income Arbitrage was up 1.27%, and Multi Strategy gained 1.22%.
Two hedge fund indices lost value in March. Pacific Rim Equities slid 0.18% and Global Macro was down 0.66%.
“Equity market declines in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan pulled down the Pacific Rim sector this month,” says Waksman.
For the first three months of 2007, Barclay’s Merger Arbitrage Index has gained 5.25%, Event Driven 5.04%, Fixed Income Arbitrage 4.09%, Emerging Markets 4.06%, and Multi Strategy 3.90%.
The Barclay Hedge Fund Index is up 2.88% 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@barclayhedge.com for more commentary or background.
The Barclay Group, founded in 1985, actively tracks more than 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.
