Investing May 9, 2002

Hedge Funds Hang on in April

May 9, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Hedge funds held their own in April, slipping 0.25%, according to the Hennessee Hedge Fund Advisory Group.
Reported by

In a bit of a turnaround, some of April’s best performers were some of the weakest just a month ago. 

Hennessee’s data reveals that International and Short Biased hedge funds were two of the best performing strategies for the month, returning 3.18% and 2.97%, on average.  Financial Equities notched a 3.02% gain.

On the other hand, the worst performing hedge funds were:

  • Telecom/Media, which lost 3.35%
  • Healthcare/Biotech, down 3.17%
  • Technology, which was 2.04% lower.

During April, long/short equity managers made a significant amount of money on the short side, which offset losses incurred on the long side, according to the report. 

Some managers reported profits by shorting stocks in the beaten-down technology sector, while others made money through their stock picking skills in companies that continue to face poor earnings growth. 

Though hedge funds were down for the month, their performance still outpaced most major US equity indexes.  For the month, the NASDAQ fell 8.51%, the Dow was down 4.40%, the Wilshire 5000 was 4.96% lower and the S&P 500 was down 6.14%.

Year-to-date, hedge funds are up 0.88%, according to the hedge fund advisory firm.

 

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