Greenwich Mid-Month Update: Hedge Funds Rise 0.93% in July

Aug. 15, 2012 - PRLog -- Stamford, CT, USA, August 15, 2012 – Hedge fund managers posted positive results in July on average as the Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index rose +0.93% for the month. As indicated in our first estimates earlier this month, Futures strategies were one of the best performers in July, returning an average of +2.29%. The GGHFI’s gain of +0.93% closely follows that of global equity returns in the S&P 500 Total Return (1.39%), and MSCI World Equity (+1.20%) equity indices. 66% of constituent funds in the GGHFI ended the month with gains.

Global Index Strategy Highlights

•   Futures funds are one of the best performers during the month, gaining +2.29% on average. Many managers benefitted from long positions in commodities markets, especially in agriculture. Macro managers also performed well in the month with a +1.52% gain.
•   Global stock markets saw much of their gains concentrated in the last week of the month. On average, Long/Short Equity funds returned another month of modest gains (+0.19%), continuing to trail equity markets. Value strategies outperformed both Opportunistic and Growth strategies with a gain of +0.41%. Short-Biased funds were a bright spot in this group in July, rising +3.52%.
•   Fixed Income Arbitrage funds were the best performers in the Market Neutral Group in July, returning +1.51%. This strategy is now up approximately 6.1% YTD, along with Convertible Arbitrage. These strategies now lag only Long-Short Credit funds for their 2012 performance (+6.14% YTD).
•   Regionally, funds investing in Developed Markets (+0.99%) outperformed those investing in Emerging Markets (+0.20%) on average in July. Global Developed Markets funds had the best month (+1.60%). Perhaps surprisingly, this was followed in the Developed Markets category by Western European funds, which rose 0.95% in July. This brings them to +4.02% YTD, making this region the strongest YTD. Funds focused on Emerging Markets Europe also posted very strong results for the month, gaining +1.17% on average.

Strategy Group Results            
                           July      YTD
Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index   0.93%   2.86%
                  
Market Neutral Group               0.97%   3.46%
   Equity Market Neutral            0.25%   0.88%
   Event Driven                  1.08%   3.36%
      Distressed Securities         1.21%   4.06%
      Merger Arbitrage            0.27%   3.42%
      Several Strategies         1.43%   2.95%
   Arbitrage                  1.51%   5.91%
      Convertible Arbitrage         0.52%   6.11%
      Fixed Income Arbitrage      1.51%   6.07%
      Other Arbitrage            0.68%   4.74%
                  
Long-Short Equity Group            0.19%   2.18%
   Growth                     0.15%   2.17%
   Opportunistic               -0.48%   -0.26%
   Short-Biased               3.52%   -9.06%
   Value                     0.41%   3.50%
                  
Directional Trading Group            2.05%   2.01%
   Futures                     2.29%   1.64%
   Macro                     1.52%   2.35%
                  
Specialty Strategies Group         1.18%   4.64%
   Long-Short Credit            1.20%   6.14%
   Multi-Strategy               1.16%   3.59%
                  
                  
                  
Greenwich Regional Hedge Fund Indices  July   YTD
Developed Markets            
   Composite                  0.99%   3.15%
   Global                     1.60%   2.68%
   Asia                     -0.10%   1.55%
   Europe                     0.95%   4.02%
   North America               0.50%   3.65%
                  
Emerging Markets            
   Composite                  0.20%   1.07%
   Emerging Markets Global         0.34%   0.19%
   Emerging Markets Asia         -0.21%   0.91%
   Emerging Markets Europe         1.17%   1.01%
   Emerging Markets Latin America/SA  -0.12%   2.48%


The GGHFI is one of the oldest benchmarks of the hedge fund universe.  Final Strategy and Regional index results for July will be available in early September, once additional funds have submitted returns.  Past performance and indices construction rules for all Greenwich Hedge Fund Indices may be viewed at www.greenwichai.com.



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Greenwich Alternative Investments, LLC (and its affiliates) manages one of the world’s largest hedge fund databases and is among the oldest providers of hedge fund indices, asset management services, and research to institutional investors worldwide.



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