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“December’s relatively small outflow is almost certainly seasonal, a product of quarter-end and year-end redemptions,” said Sol Waksman, CEO of BarclayHedge. “Hedge funds experienced outflows in December in each of the past five years, and we suspect inflows have already resumed.”
In addition, funds of hedge funds posted an estimated outflow of $6.3 billion in December, bringing redemptions for all of 2009 to $180.9 billion. Funds of funds returned only 10.24% in 2009, less than half of the industry’s average 23.9% gain. “Funds of hedge funds turned extremely risk-averse after the late 2008 sell-off,” said Vincent Deluard, Global Equity Strategist at TrimTabs. “Their conservative strategy allocation and large cash balances hurt their returns during this rebound.”
At the strategy level, Convertible Arbitrage and Emerging Markets funds showed the highest returns this past year, delivering gains of 53.59% and 43.85%, respectively. Inflows were strongest for Commodity Traded Advisers and Equity Market Neutral funds, the two strategies which performed best during the late 2008 sell-off.
Deluard also said, “Funds with the highest fees experienced the smallest redemptions this past year.” He explained, “Hedge fund investors are still willing to pay for good managers; the funds with the highest fees also delivered the best returns, rising an average of 36.5% this past year.”
The TrimTabs/BarclayHedge database tracks hedge fund flows on a monthly basis. The TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Flow Report provides detailed analysis of these flows as well as relevant topical studies. Click here for further information.
BarclayHedge is a leading hedge fund data vendor and one of the foremost sources for proprietary research in the field of alternative investments. From its origin as a research specialist and performance measurement firm, BarclayHedge has developed complete client services as a publisher, database and software provider, and industry consultant.
TrimTabs Investment Research is the only independent research service that publishes detailed daily coverage of U.S. stock market liquidity--including mutual fund flows and exchange-traded fund flows--as well as weekly withheld income and employment tax collections. Founded by Charles Biderman, TrimTabs has provided institutional investors with trading strategies since 1990. For more information, please visit us here.
