Hedge funds get USD17.5bn in November

Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Author: HedgeWeek

Hedge funds took in USD17.5bn or 0.9 per cent of assets in November, according to a report from BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research.

This inflow was the highest in six months and the second-highest in the past two years.
 
“The hedge fund industry has taken in a net USD66.9bn in 2013, a healthy turnaround from an outflow of USD8.2bn in the same period in 2012,” says Sol Waksman, president and founder of BarclayHedge.
 
Hedge funds had net inflows in nine of the first 11 months of 2013.
 
Industry assets climbed to a five-year high of USD2.1trn.
 
“Assets are up 17 per cent in 2013 but are still 14 per cent below the all-time peak of USD2.4trn in June 2008,” says Waksman.
 
The monthly TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Flow Report shows the industry gained 0.8 per cent in November, underperforming the S&P 500, which gained 3.1 per cent. Equity Long Only hedge funds gained 2.3 per cent, adding to October’s 1.9 per cent gain. Equity Long Bias funds gained 1.6 per cent, down from a 2.3 per cent gain in October.
 
Funds of hedge funds took in USD1.9bn (0.4 per cent of assets) in November, reversing course after redeeming USD1.1bn October. Funds of funds added assets in just three of the past 24 months. By contrast, the hedge fund industry posted inflows in 15 of the past 24 months.
 
Meanwhile, the monthly TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Survey of Hedge Fund Managers finds a plurality of managers is bullish on the S&P 500’s prospects for January. Bearish sentiment is at a three-month high, while bullish sentiment is at a three-month low. Nearly two-thirds of respondents expect equities to outperform bonds and precious metals over the next six months, and a similar proportion expects developed markets to outpace emerging and frontier markets in the same period.