The hedge fund sector has posted a positive return for January, following six months of negative returns, according to the Credit Suisse/Tremont hedge fund index.
The hedge fund sector posted a return of 1.09 per cent in January, after a six-month performance of minus 16 per cent.
Convertible arbitrage had the best performance out of all hedge fund strategies, posting returns of more than 5 per cent for the month, after a loss of more than 31 per cent in 2008.
Fixed income arbitrage and equity market neutral also posted positive returns as credit markets improved, compared to negative returns of 28.8 per cent and 40.3 per cent, respectively, in 2008.
Multi-strategy returned 3.3 per cent in January, after a loss of more than 23 per cent for 2008. Event-driven and global macro strategies also posted positive returns for the month, after negative returns of more than 17 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
The hedge fund sector has altered significantly since 2008, with long-short equity strategies shrinking to the second largest sector, behind event-driven strategies. Global macro has also expanded by 5 per cent.
