(Financial Times) — Bearish hedge fund managers have lost out in 2012, with the $2tn industry suffering another year of disappointing returns as traders were wrongfooted by a change in fortunes for the eurozone.
According to Hedge Fund Research, slight gains in December were likely to mean the average hedge fund manager made just more than 5 per cent over the year — a period watched closely by many investors after disappointing returns in 2011, when the average hedge fund lost 5 per cent.
Flows into the industry are also expected to have slowed markedly, hit by a wave of high-profile closures. The first 9 months of last year saw hedge funds pull in a net $30bn from investors, compared with $70bn in 2011.
As with 2011, the eurozone crisis dominated most funds’ trading. Global macro funds, which aim to profit from shifts in economic sentiment, were among the hardest hit, entering a second year of losses for investors.
