Staff with files from Advisor.ca
Hedge funds closed the final month of the year in positive territory. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 0.25% in December, while the MSCI World Index finished the month down 0.8%.
In 2014 as a whole, hedge funds were up 4.57%, falling behind underlying markets as the MSCI World Index returned 6.79% over the same period. Roughly 18% of the fund managers have posted double-digit returns in 2014, down from 35% in 2013.
Here are some key findings for December 2014:
- The US$2.14-trillion hedge fund industry grew its asset base by US$125.9 billion in 2014, roughly half of the US$240.4-billion increase recorded in 2013.
- Net investor flows for 2014 were down to US$39.8 billion from US$137.5 billion in 2013, with 2014 seeing investors redeem US$36 billion.
- Asia ex-Japan investing hedge funds outperformed global peers for the third consecutive year, returning 9.39% in 2014—the highest among all regional mandates.
- Commodity trading advisor/managed futures funds delivered the best performance among all strategic mandates, up 9.60% in 2014, as managers won big on oil and currency futures.
- On a year-to-date basis, Indian hedge funds are the top performers with gains of 39.05%, while Eastern Europe and Russia mandated funds delivered the worst results down 22.58% for the year.
This story originally appeared on our sister site, Advisor.ca.