Investing December 18, 2001

YTD Hedge Funds Leave Equities in the Dust

December 18, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - While the performance of the Average US Hedge Funds was not as strong as that of the major equity indices in November, their ability to short the markets has allowed led them to outperform the market on a year-to-date basis.
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The Average US Hedge Fund returned 2.5% net in November, buoying a year-to-date increase of 4.5%, while the Average Offshore Hedge Fund, which earned 1.9% net in November, rose 5.9% between January and November 2001, according to figures from Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc.

On a year-to-date basis, hedge fund performance has been stellar, with thirteen of the fourteen global hedge fund strategies tracked by Van Hedge Fund Advisors in 2001, with, four of them posting double-digit gains.

Performers

Over the month, the top performing hedge fund strategies were:

  • Offshore Emerging Markets, which increased by 8.7%,
  • Offshore Short Selling, which was up by 4.9%,
  • US Value funds, which, supported by their exposure to the US equity market, rose by 4.9%, and
  • US Aggressive Growth funds, which climbed 4.1% for the same reason

Year-to-date the best performing strategies were:

  • US Distressed Securities funds, which led with an average 15.2% net return,
  • Offshore Distressed Securities, which followed with a 14.5% gain, and
  • Offshore Short Selling strategies, which increased by 14.3%

Major Indices

Hedge funds also outperformed the Average Equity Mutual Fund by 19%, as well as the major indices, in particular:

  • the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which lost 7.1% over the first eleven months of the year,
  • the S&P 500, which has fallen by 12.7%, and
  • the NASDAQ, which has lost 21.6% of its value


 

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