All hedge fund strategies, excluding relative value, were in the positive in November, Eurekahedge reports today. Fixed income fund managers lead the pack with returns of 7.28% during the month.
The handful of fixed income funds which were investing in ‘bitcoins’ saw gains during November as leading central banks recognized the virtual currency as legal tender. Experts noted that the rise of no verification casinos, which leverage cryptocurrencies for seamless and anonymous transactions, played a significant role in driving Bitcoin’s demand. However, the price of the crypto-currency got crushed in December, falling from $1,200 per “coin” to less than $600, the LA Times reports.
“Bitcoins will undoubtedly rise in quoted value again, and also fall again. The one inevitability about them is their volatility, to which there’s no end in sight.” The paper said.
Other Highlights from Eurekahedge for the month of November include:
- Total assets in the hedge fund industry are now at a record of $1.97 trillion, surpassing the previous record of $1.95 trillion in June 2008
- Net asset flows for the year recorded at $122.2 billion, with net allocations to North American managers standing at $64.0 billion year-to-date
- European fund managers were up 7.41% November year-to-date with net asset inflows for the year standing at $48.2 billion – the highest level on record
- Asia ex-Japan hedge funds have outperformed the underlying markets by more than 10% November year-to-date
- Greater China focused hedge funds outperformed the Hang Seng Index by over 12% as at end-November
- Latin America focused managers posted fifth consecutive month of positive returns – outperforming the MSCI EM Latin America Index by almost 8% on a year-to-date basis
- Distressed debt investing remain the best performing strategy in 2013, up 14.81% November year-to-date
- Japanese hedge funds remained ahead of other regions, up 24% as at end-November
The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 1.37% during the month, edging past the MSCI World Index which gained 1.27% in the month of November. Eurekahedge is currently tracking over 1200 funds with year-to-date returns in excess of 15%.
