FAIRFIELD, Iowa, November 8, 2007– Hedge funds were up 2.90% in October, adding to their 2.51% gain in September, according to flash estimates from the Barclay Hedge Fund Index.
“Global stock markets lead the way in October," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of The Barclay Group.
“All of the developed markets except Japan, Sweden and New Zealand posted gains for the month.”
Seventeen of Barclay’s eighteen hedge fund indexes gained ground in October.
“As of today, 90% of the funds that have submitted their returns for October are reporting a profit for the month,” says Waksman.
The Emerging Markets Index soared 5.16% in October, and leads all hedge fund strategies in 2007 with a 25.01% gain.
“With the exception of Hungary, all emerging market equity indices saw increases during October, and many of those increases were quite large. Equity markets in Brazil, Russia, India and China all registered double digit gains in October.”
Barclay’s Technology Index jumped 5.04%, Healthcare and Biotechnology rose 3.83%, Global Macro gained 3.67% Equity Long Bias was up 3.29%, and the Multi-Strategy Index gained 3.08%.
The only losing strategy in October was selling the market short.
“A strong equity market presents serious challenges for short-sellers,” says Waksman.
“However, in spite of the strong rally in equity prices, the Barclay Equity Short Bias Index was down only 0.60% for the month.”
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index was up 2.87 % in October, and has gained 10.19% in 2007.
The Barclay Hedge Fund Index has gained 12.02% year to date.
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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 sol@barclayhedge.com.
The Barclay Group, founded in 1985, actively tracks more than 6,500 hedge funds, fund of hedge funds, and managed futures programs. Barclay has created and regularly updates 18 proprietary hedge fund indexes and eight managed futures indexes.
Institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide utilize Barclay’s data as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries.