The hedge fund industry added to its gains in April, returning 2.14% as the industry posted a sixth consecutive month in the black, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. By comparison the S&P 500 Total Return Index gained 5.34% in April.
For the year to date, the hedge fund industry gained 7.06% through the end of April. The S&P 500 Total Return Index returned 11.84% over the same period.
All sectors but two tracked in the Barclay Hedge Fund Indices were in positive territory for April.
“The economic news was positive across sectors in April,” said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. “Equity markets continued to hit record highs while U.S. jobless claims consistently hit pandemic lows during the month. Manufacturing activity picked up in the U.S., the U.K. and the Eurozone while the Chinese economy grew at its fastest pace on record in the first quarter and the U.S. GDP rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels.”
The Pacific Rim Equities Index led the way among hedge fund sectors in April returning 3.88%. Other notable gainers included the Equity Long Bias Index and Event Driven Indices, each advancing 3.45%, the Technology Index returning 3.15%, the Emerging Markets MENA Index gaining 3.14%, and the Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index posting a 2.99% return.
The lone two sectors in the red for April were the Convertible Arbitrage Index, off 0.23%, and the Volatility Trading Index, down 0.02% for the month.
For the year to date, the Equity Long Bias Index led the way through April gaining 12.57%. The Event Driven Index was up 11.29% over the period, the Distressed Securities Index advanced 11.05%, the Emerging Markets Eastern European Equities Index returned 10.95% and the Emerging Markets MENA Index gained 10.74%.
Two sectors were in the red for the year to date. The Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index was down 1.52%, while the Emerging Markets Latin America Index was off 0.61%.
“A stronger U.S. dollar and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to challenge Latin American markets,” said Waksman.
For a complete table of BarclayHedge Hedge Fund and Sub-Index results for April, as well as historical returns, click here.
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Backstop’s mission is to help the institutional investment industry use time to its fullest potential. We develop technology to simplify and streamline otherwise time-consuming tasks and processes, enabling our clients to quickly and easily access, share and manage the knowledge that’s critical to their day-to-day business success. Backstop provides its industry-leading cloud-based productivity suite to investment consultants, pensions, funds of funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, private equity, hedge funds and real estate investment firms.
BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop, currently maintains data on more than 7,100 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.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sol Waksman
BarclayHedge
division of Backstop Solutions Group
(641) 472-3456