Hedge Fund Investor Flows and Performance Rebound to Begin 2012


Date: Thursday, February 9, 2012
Author: Peter Laurelli, Channel Capital Group Inc.

Below are early estimates1 for January hedge fund performance and asset flows. A full report will be available later in the month.

January Highlights:

-In a similar fashion to 2011, a rally in global equity markets was the story to start 2012 and all major fund classifications posted aggregate gains. The HFN Hedge Fund Aggregate Index was +2.26% in January, reversing a two month slide and nearly matching the industry�s best month of 2011 (October, +2.36%). The S&P 500 Total Return Index (S&P) was +4.48%.
-New allocations to hedge funds appear to have outpaced redemptions in January. Should the trend hold as more funds report, the net inflow reverses a four month trend of net redemptions for the industry. Performance gains pushed hedge fund assets over $2.5 trillion and early indications show investors appeared to continue favoring credit and commodity strategies over equities entering the year.
-Emerging market strategies (+3.88%) were the largest beneficiaries of the environment and many EM countries rebounded significantly. Brazil and India focused funds were the top performers (+9.01% & +6.10%) for the month. MENA strategies, in stark contrast to other EM groups, stayed flat (+0.02%) in January as tensions in the region continued to rise. EM equity strategies outperformed EM debt strategies (+5.80% vs. +1.57%) in January, but still lag significantly over the last twelve months (-11.09% vs. +1.21%).
-The aggregate of all equity strategies outperformed credit (+3.11% vs. 1.71%), while convertible arbitrage (+2.78%) and event driven (+2.60%) were also among the top performers. Mortgage strategies continued to post solid results (+2.02%) and are the best performing fund classification over the last twelve months (+10.35%).
-Despite a shift in recent major currency trends in January, macro funds were largely positive (+2.87%) during the month, likely increasing equity market exposures and extending gains off the back of rising commodity prices. Multi-strategy funds lagged, but were still in positive territory for the month (+0.39%).
-Sector specific equity funds surged in January led by natural resources and financials sector equity funds (+11.54% and +4.70%). Healthcare focused strategies (+4.08% in January) were the only sector specific equity funds to end 2011 in the black (+7.42%). UCITS compliant long/short equity funds (+4.53%), which generally tend to hold a long bias, outperformed their non-compliant counterparts for another consecutive month.
-Regional groups were up across the board to start the year. Funds investing in the emerging markets generally outperformed developed markets funds. Funds investing in the U.S. were +3.12% on average, while those in Japan were +2.88%. Australia focused funds lagged against developed market peers with preliminary estimates showing +0.17% in January; the Australia group was the top country specific DM performer in the last twelve months, +1.02%.

The full eVestment|HFN January report, to be released in the third week of February, will provide details on asset flows across the industry and by strategy and region.

 

January Benchmark Performance
Emerging Market Benchmarks
HFN Brazil Index:						+9.01% in January, +3.05% LTM
HFN China Index:						+2.14% in January, -9.63% LTM
HFN India Index:						+6.10% in January, -22.93% LTM
HFN Russia Index2:				          N/A in January, -24.81% LTM
HFN Latin America Index:					+7.94% in January, +1.14% LTM
HFN Middle East/North Africa Index:				+0.02% in January, -15.11% LTM
Emerging Markets Debt:						+1.57% in January, +1.21% LTM
Emerging Markets Equity:					+5.80% in January, -11.09% LTM
HFN Emerging Markets Index:					+3.88% in January, -12.11% LTM

Broad and Developed Market Benchmarks
HFN Asia Index:							+3.39% in January, -8.21% LTM
HFN Europe Index:						+2.16% in January, -5.14% LTM
HFN North America Index:					+3.05% in January, +0.07% LTM
HFN Australia Index:						+0.17% for January, +1.02% LTM
HFN Japan Index:						+2.88% in January, -6.31% LTM
HFN U.S. Index:							+3.12% in January, +0.56% LTM

Fixed Income (FI) Strategies
All Fixed Income Strategies:					+1.71% in January, +3.64% LTM
Corporate Bond Strategies:					+1.80% in January, +3.86% LTM
Government Bond Strategies:					+1.56% in January, +3.58% LTM
HFN Distressed Index:						+3.00% in January, -0.66% LTM
HFN Mortgages Index:						+2.02% in January, +10.35% LTM
HFN Fixed Income Arbitrage Index:				+1.70% in January, +4.14% LTM

Equity (EQ) Strategies
All Equity Strategies:						+3.11% in January, -4.24% LTM
HFN Long/Short Equity Index:					+3.06% in January, -4.12% LTM
HFN Market Neutral Equity Index:				+1.59% in January, +2.06% LTM
HFN Short Bias Index:						-7.87% in January, -3.59% LTM
Energy Equity Strategies:					+4.21% in January, -8.22% LTM
Financials Equity Strategies:					+4.70% in January, -3.22% LTM
Healthcare Equity Strategies:					+4.08% in January, +7.42% LTM
Natural Resource Equity Strategies:				+11.54% in January, -2.40% LTM
Real Estate Equity Strategies:					+3.86% in January, -7.24% LTM
Technology Equity Strategies:					+2.57% in January, -1.43% LTM

Commodity and Foreign Exchange (FX) Strategies
Foreign Exchange Strategies:					+0.22% in January, -0.05% LTM
Financial Futures Strategies:					+1.66% in January, +1.76% LTM
Commodity (Non-FX) Strategies:					+0.53% in January, -2.08% LTM
HFN CTA/Managed Futures Index:					+0.73% in January, -2.68% LTM
1Early estimates are based on funds reporting January returns as of February 08, 2012. Performance has a tendency to drift lower as more funds report. Asset estimates may drift lower, but have not shown a consistent tendency to do so.
2An insufficient number of funds has reported January performance data as of February 08, 2012 to produce an estimate. Please look forward to our full January report later this month for an update.