Barclay Hedge Fund Index Gains 2.02% in October; Hedge Funds Are Up 7.24% YTD After Two Strong Months of Gains

FAIRFIELD, Iowa, November 15, 2010– Hedge funds gained 2.02% in October according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge.

Building on September and October gains, the Index is up 7.24% year-to-date, nearly matching the 7.84% gain by the S&P 500 Index.

“Following a rough patch in May and June, hedge funds have gained 7.20 percent over the past four months,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.

“Over 78 percent of the funds that have reported returns from January through October are profitable in 2010.”

All but one of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices had gains in October. The Barclay Technology Index gained 3.33%, Equity Long Bias was up 3.11%, Emerging Markets gained 2.35%, and Convertible Arbitrage rose 2.32%.

"Global equity prices continued to rally," says Waksman. “Other than Israel and Egypt, all of the equity markets in countries included in the MSCI Developed and Emerging Market Indexes gained ground in October.”

The Equity Short Bias Index lost 0.45% in October, and is down 6.82% through October 2010.

“Equity Short Bias is the only losing hedge fund category this year,” says Waksman. "After a record 40.91 percent gain in 2008, Short Bias has proven to be a challenging strategy over the past two years."

The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 1.56% in October, and is up 2.88% for the year.

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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 was founded in 1985 and actively tracks more than 5,800 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Each month Barclay provides updated performance rankings for 38 Hedge Fund categories and 16 CTA categories.

Institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide utilize BarclayHedge indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.