Hedge Funds Record Strong First Half

Date: Monday, July 13, 2009
Author: Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal reports: Hedge-fund performance jumped in the first half of the year, easily outpacing stock-market performance and marking a rebound from a disastrous 2008, according to data from Hennessee Group LLC.

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index rose 11.7% during the period, the strongest gain for the benchmark since 1999's 14.8% advance ahead of the Internet bubble's peak. The benchmark S&P 500 Index rose 1.8% in the first half of the year.

Hedge funds put in their worst-ever performance last year, but the industry's losses were smaller than equity markets and many commodities, which also swooned in the back half of 2008.