Hedge Funds Up 0.43% In February

While the Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Beta Index showed a small 0.16% decline for the average hedge fund last month, Hedge Fund Research's HFRX suite shows a much rosier picture. The average fund rose 0.43% in February, according to the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, and all strategies save macro were in the black as well.

The main HFRX index is up 2.4% on the year, trailing the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which returned 1.4% last month and is up more than 6% on the year.

Master-limited partnerships paced hedge funds in February, adding 1.92%. The strategy is up an impressive 10.11% on the year already, after an 8.03% jump in January. Fundamental value funds also did well last month, adding 1.72% (4.85% year-to-date), while convertible arbitrage funds rose 1.45% (2.43% YTD).

Equity hedge funds rose 1.17% (3.84% YTD), special situations funds 1.06% (5.32% YTD), credit funds 0.66% (2.06% YTD), event-driven funds 0.45% (3.84% YTD), merger arbitrage funds 0.26% (0.52% YTD), emerging markets funds 0.24% (0.65% YTD), equity market-neutral funds 0.19% (0.57% YTD) and relative value arbitrage funds 0.09% (1.6% YTD).

Macro funds and commodity trading advisers, by contrast, fell 0.09% (up 0.01% YTD), with systematic diversified CTAs losing 0.51% (down 0.59% YTD).