The hedge fund industry generated an average return of 1.23% in August, which may have pushed its winning streak into double-digits, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions.
For the year to date, the Barclay Hedge Fund Index was up 10.00%.
28 of 30 hedge fund subsectors tracked in the Barclay Hedge Fund Indices posted monthly gains in August, led by the Emerging Markets MENA Index which was up 3.54% and the Technology Index ahead 3.36%.
Other notable gainers included the Pacific Rim Equities Index (+3.13%), as well as numerous indices focused on emerging markets, such as the Emerging Markets Global Equities Index (+2.67%), the Emerging Markets Eastern European Equities Index (+2.33%), and the Emerging Markets Global Index (+2.08%).
The only two subsectors losing ground in August were the Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index, down -2.33%, and the Emerging Markets Latin America Index, off -1.99%.
The same 28 out of 30 hedge fund subsectors ahead in August have also enjoyed year-to-date gains. The strongest performers so far in 2021 have hailed from emerging markets in Eastern Europe: The Emerging Markets Eastern European Equities Index has returned 22.66% and the Emerging Markets Eastern European Index overall was 19.30%. Eastern Europe’s emerging markets have been slightly trailed by a diverse cluster that includes the Distressed Securities Index (+17.70%), the Emerging Markets MENA Index (+16.76%), the Equity Long Bias Index (+16.57%), and the Technology Index (+14.80%).
Choppy results in Latin American emerging markets have put its two primary subsectors slightly into the red on a year-to-date basis: Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index was off -2.54% and the Emerging Markets Latin America Index was just below break-even at -0.82%.
“Markets continued in August to shrug off worries about inflation and bad news on the fallout from a marauding Delta variant. Despite signaling from the Fed to the contrary, the easy money tap flowed on throughout August and no compelling bearish narrative coalesced in the markets,” observed Ben Crawford, Head of Research at BarclayHedge. He added, “Economic growth indicators and forecasts have also largely remained positive—making August another period in a continuing era of opportunity for most types of Hedge Funds.”
For a complete table of BarclayHedge Hedge Fund and Sub-Index results for August, as well as historical returns, click here.
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BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop, currently maintains data on more than 6,900 hedge funds, funds of funds and CTAs. The BarclayHedge Indices are utilized by institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.
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