Hedge Funds July Returns
Hedge Funds Offer Mixed Returns in July, Positive Overall
But overall performance is expected to be positive but not the type of impressive returns expected that would have given hedge funds a boost in the second half of the year. The estimate looks to be a rise of 1.23% in July, according to Hedge Fund Research’s HFRX indices.
The lackluster performance so far this year is curbing new allocations from investors, people in the industry say, as the sector struggles to get back on its feet after 2008's heavy losses from performance and redemptions.
Some well-known funds losing money in July include Brevan Howard Asset Management's $25 billion Master Fund, down by about 2%; and RAB Capital PLC's (RAB) Special Situations Fund, plummeting 12.5%. The Brevan Howard fund is slightly down on the year, after making about 18% in 2009 and 20% in 2008. RAB Special Situations is down 8.6% year-to-date, reversing double-digit gains earlier in the year.
Overall industry performance for the month is likely to be flat to slightly up, based on the returns of funds of hedge funds that have posted returns, and on Hedge Fund Research Inc.'s HFRX index.
"A combination of being in bearish positions and short the euro was very bad for macro managers," said one head of a London-based fund of hedge funds, estimating that his firm's portfolio of managers will post a small return for July. Source
