Hedge funds snap nine-month winning streak as the spread of the Delta variant and the Chinese regulatory crackdown unsettles investors |
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The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was down 0.13% in July 2021, trailing behind the global equity market as represented by the MSCI ACWI (Local) which gained 0.40% over the same period. The global economy continued to recover as steady progress of the vaccination rollout enabled mobility restrictions in several major developed markets to be relaxed further. However, the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 has raised concerns that the economic momentum would not be sustainable. In addition, the Chinese authorities imposed a crackdown on technology and education companies which unsettled investors and led to a sharp decline in Chinese equities in July – the CSI 300 Index and Hang Seng Index posted returns of -7.90% and -9.94% respectively. Nevertheless, strong corporate earnings in the United States have enabled US equities to perform well in July with the S&P 500 and DJIA gaining 2.27% and 1.25% respectively. Over in Europe, returns were mostly positive among equity benchmarks in the region with the CAC 40 and Euro Stoxx 50 taking the lead with gains of 1.61% and 0.62% respectively. The increasing share of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 boosted hopes that lockdowns would not be necessary despite the rising cases of the Delta variant. Returns were mostly negative across geographic mandates in July with European hedge funds in the lead with a return of 0.61% while Asia ex Japan and North American hedge funds posted returns of -0.11% and -0.31% respectively. Across strategies, distressed debt and CTA/Managed Futures outperformed their strategic peers with returns of 0.72% and 0.30% respectively throughout the month. |
Below are the key highlights for the month of July 2021 |
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Index of the Month |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
---|---|---|---|
Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index | 11.52 | 107.02 | 200.17 |
Main Indices
Main Eurekahedge Indices |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
---|---|---|---|
Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index | -0.13 | 7.97 | 12.70 |
Eurekahedge Fund of Funds Index | -0.21 | 5.78 | 11.79 |
Eurekahedge Long-only Absolute Return Fund Index | -0.26 | 12.30 | 12.83 |
Regional Indices
Eurekahedge Regional Indices |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
---|---|---|---|
Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Index | -0.31 | 11.02 | 15.49 |
Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index | 0.61 | 6.70 | 4.46 |
Eurekahedge Japan Hedge Fund Index | -0.66 | 6.15 | 1.61 |
Eurekahedge Emerging Markets Hedge Fund Index | -1.34 | 4.96 | 16.90 |
Eurekahedge Asia ex Japan Hedge Fund Index | -0.11 | 7.74 | 23.31 |
Eurekahedge Latin American Hedge Fund Index | -3.38 | 0.43 | 4.06 |
European hedge fund managers returned 0.61% in July, outperforming their North American counterparts who returned -0.31% despite the S&P500 outperforming the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 for the month – the S&P 500 gained 2.27% in July while the Euro Stoxx 50 returned 0.62%. Asia ex Japan hedge fund managers ended the month of July slightly lower with a return of -0.11%, strongly outperforming the MSCI AC Asia Pacific Ex Japan Index which returned -5.32% as Chinese stock markets retreated significantly after reforms to the private tutoring sector triggered volatility towards the end of July.
Strategy Indices
Returns were mixed across strategic mandates in July with the distressed debt and CTA/Managed Futures mandates gaining 0.72% and 0.30% respectively, extending their year-to-date returns to 11.10% and 6.13% respectively. On the other end of the spectrum, the event driven and long short equities mandates returned -0.66% and -0.58% respectively in July, reducing their year-to-date returns to 10.14% and 9.74% respectively.
Table 1: Strategy return map
Eurekahedge Strategy Indices |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
---|---|---|---|
Eurekahedge Arbitrage Hedge Fund Index | -0.32 | 2.77 | 11.68 |
Eurekahedge CTA/Managed Futures Hedge Fund Index | 0.30 | 6.13 | 7.41 |
Eurekahedge Distressed Debt Hedge Fund Index | 0.72 | 11.10 | 6.12 |
Eurekahedge Event Driven Hedge Fund Index | -0.66 | 10.14 | 8.73 |
Eurekahedge Fixed Income Hedge Fund Index | -0.01 | 3.77 | 5.28 |
Eurekahedge Long Short Equities Hedge Fund Index | -0.58 | 9.74 | 17.86 |
Eurekahedge Macro Hedge Fund Index | -0.01 | 4.59 | 11.24 |
Eurekahedge Multi-Strategy Hedge Fund Index | 0.09 | 6.79 | 7.66 |
Eurekahedge Relative Value Hedge Fund Index | -0.06 | 6.12 | 9.47 |
CBOE Eurekahedge Long Volatility Hedge Fund Index | -0.61 | -7.15 | 25.41 |
CBOE Eurekahedge Relative Value Volatility Hedge Fund Index | -1.24 | 1.28 | 5.66 |
CBOE Eurekahedge Short Volatility Hedge Fund Index | 0.13 | 7.31 | -0.80 |
CBOE Eurekahedge Tail Risk Hedge Fund Index | -0.91 | -5.87 | 34.84 |
Eurekahedge Equity Long Bias Hedge Fund Index | -0.39 | 12.98 | 14.93 |
Eurekahedge Equity Market Neutral Hedge Fund Index | 0.43 | 6.18 | 3.69 |
Eurekahedge Trend Following Index | 0.42 | 8.70 | 11.29 |
Eurekahedge FX Hedge Fund Index | 3.31 | 4.80 | 0.95 |
Eurekahedge Commodity Hedge Fund Index | -0.48 | 8.69 | 11.19 |
Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index | 11.52 | 107.02 | 200.17 |
Eurekahedge AI Hedge Fund Index | 1.55 | 1.53 | 11.24 |
Eurekahedge ILS Advisers Index | 0.58 | 1.54 | 3.48 |
Eurekahedge Global Hedge Fund Indices by Fund Size |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
---|---|---|---|
Eurekahedge Small Hedge Fund Index (< US$100m) | -0.16 | 8.16 | 13.24 |
Eurekahedge Medium Hedge Fund Index (US$100m - US$500m) | -0.22 | 7.95 | 11.73 |
Eurekahedge Large Hedge Fund Index (> US$500m) | 0.53 | 7.21 | 7.29 |
Eurekahedge Billion Dollar Hedge Fund Index | 0.74 | 6.35 | 5.60 |
Eurekahedge Asset Weighted Indices |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
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Eurekahedge Asset Weighted Index – USD | 0.26 | 4.22 | 4.47 |
Eurekahedge TOP100 Asset Weighted Index – USD | 0.57 | 2.99 | 1.71 |
Eurekahedge TOP300 Asset Weighted Index - USD | 0.28 | 3.70 | 3.12 |
Asia-Eurekahedge Indices |
Jul 2021* |
2021 Returns | 2020 Returns |
---|---|---|---|
Eurekahedge Greater China Hedge Fund Index | -0.46 | 5.71 | 35.89 |
Eurekahedge India Hedge Fund Index | 5.09 | 21.13 | 19.88 |
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