Hedge funds outperform equities
Hedge funds have outperformed the major equity indices over the past year, with the Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index returning negative 5.1 per cent in October, compared to the S&P 500 Index and MSCI World Equity, which returned negative 16.8 per cent and 19.1 per cent respectively, according to VanMac Group.
Long/short equity managers lost 7.9 per cent in October due to volatile market movements. Short selling managers continued to be profitable, advancing 11.1 per cent on average. Short selling funds have gained 25.6 per cent and have been the best performing sub-sector of the hedge fund strategies.
The credit markets have also hit market neutral funds, which declined 4.6 per cent in October. Convertible arbitrage managers declined 20 per cent, while fixed income or statistical arbitrage lost 5.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively. Distressed, merger arbitrage and special situations managers fell 4.8 per cent on average.
However, directional trading funds advanced 4.9 per cent on average. Future managers were up 6.6 per cent in October, and macro managers had an average performance of 0.3 per cent.
Recommended for you
Almost 70 per cent of asset managers are planning to control costs via product rationalisation, according to a global survey by Northern Trust, as they seek to offer clients a best-in-class experience.
Fund managers should work collaboratively with data providers to minimise greenwashing risks in their products as a positive ESG score can be a “gamechanger” for a fund’s demand with advisers.
Asset manager Janus Henderson has made two acquisitions in the ETFs and emerging markets space as it takes strategic steps to meet client needs.
Self-reporting issues to ASIC could lead to a reduced charge for a fund manager but it may not exempt them from enforcement action altogether, according to ASIC chair Joe Longo.