FAIRFIELD, Iowa, June 17, 2013 – Hedge funds gained 1.06% in May, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge. The Index is up 5.87% year to date.
“While improving consumer confidence and higher prices for US homes stoked concerns of Fed tapering, equity markets rallied even as interest rates moved higher,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge.
Overall, 16 of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund strategies had positive returns in May. The Barclay Healthcare & Biotechnology Index jumped 3.11%, Equity Long Bias gained 2.64%, the Distressed Securities Index rose 2.42%, Technology gained 2.36%, and Convertible Arbitrage added 1.81%.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gained 0.67% in May, and is up 4.82% year to date. The Fund of Funds Index now has seven straight months of gains.
The Equity Short Bias Index fell 4.01% in May and Pacific Rim Equities dropped 0.91%.
“The Nikkei declined by 12 percent over the last eight trading days of the month as speculator concerns focused on the possibility of the BOJ having to scale back its policy of aggressive easing,” says Waksman.
Equity Short Bias is now down 17.14% year to date. The other 17 hedge fund strategies tracked by BarclayHedge are all in positive territory after the first five months of 2013.
Click here to view five years of Barclay Hedge Fund Index data, or download 16 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 was founded in 1985 and actively tracks more than 6,200 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Each month Barclay provides updated performance rankings for 38 Hedge Fund categories, 16 CTA categories, and 7 UCITS categories.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms, and private banks worldwide utilize BarclayHedge indices as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.