FAIRFIELD, Iowa, February 18, 2016 – Hedge funds lost 2.83% in January according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. This has been the worst start in eight years since the Index dropped 3.26% in January 2008.
“Slowing fourth quarter growth in the US, heightening concerns about the Chinese economy, and a precipitous decline in energy prices all weighed heavily on investor sentiment,"says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Overall, 15 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices had losses in January. The Healthcare and Biotechnology Index was hit the hardest, dropping 7.10% in one month.
“In spite of reported earnings growth in the healthcare sector, the NASDAQ Biotech Index fell 21 percent,” says Waksman.
The Emerging Markets Index lost 4.87% in January, Equity Long Bias was down 4.84%, Technology gave up 3.82%, European Equities lost 3.48%, Distressed Securities were down 2.83%, and the Event Driven Index lost 2.67%.
On the positive side, the Equity Short Bias Index jumped 3.21% in January, Merger Arbitrage was up 0.51%, and Equity Market Neutral added 0.18%.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index was down 2.59% in January.
Click here to view five years of Barclay Hedge Fund Index data, or to download 19 years of monthly data.
Sol Waksman is an experienced media source, providing perspectives on hedge fund and managed futures trends. For more commentary or background, call 641-472-3456 or email swaksman@barclayhedge.com.
BarclayHedge is the global leader in providing independent, research-based information services to the alternative investment industry. Founded in 1985, Barclay currently maintains data on more than 6,100 hedge funds, fund of funds, and CTAs. No one has been in the business of collecting alternative investment data longer than BarclayHedge.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms, and private banks worldwide utilize BarclayHedge indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.