Research

Hedge Fund Performance Commentary

Introduction

Hedge funds bounced back with strong positive performances in November after flat to slightly negative returns in October. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, which tracks the performance of all hedge funds on an equally-weighted basis, gained 1.85% in November, bringing the YTD figure to 18.24%1 – the highest November YTD figure on record and on par with the bumper year of 2003.

North American managers posted the largest gains among regional mandates – the Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index increased by 2.67%, marginally higher than the Eurekahedge Asia ex-Japan Hedge Fund Index which gained 2.64%. Positive movement across most asset classes, strong corporate earnings and increased industrial production data buoyed the underlying equity markets across regions – the S&P 500 gained 5.7% while the Shanghai Composite closed 6.7% higher on the month. Similar movements in the Bovespa, driven by price gains in the commodities sector, translated into further gains by Latin American managers, who finished the month with a 1.66% gain.

The worst performing managers in November were those allocating to Japan. Japanese hedge funds lost 2.2% in November, which can be considered an outperformance as the Nikkei lost 6.9% during the month amid continuing concerns about the strengthening yen and its effect on Japanese exports.

October and November 2009 Returns

Asia ex-Japan managers continue to lead in terms of YTD returns and are on track to...


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Footnote

1 Based on 51.84% of the funds reporting their Nov-09 performance as at 11 December 2009.