WEST PALM BEACH, FL (www.hedgeco.net) – The Van Global Hedge Fund Index, slipped 0.2% net in January, according to a preliminary report released by Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, LLC (VAN).The data represents the average return net of fees posted by hedge funds included in the index. George Van, Chairman of VAN said, “January underscored the importance of a hedged investment portfolio,while equity investors saw an abrupt turn-around from the 2004 year-end rally, hedge funds largely shielded their investors from the sell-off.�
Chairman Van added, �In our preliminary sample of funds for the Index, over 86% of hedge funds beat the -2.4% return of the S&P 500 in January. Although we can’t say how the stock market may fare for the rest of the 2005, a strong case can certainly be made for hedge funds, given the fact that they averaged gains in 1990, 2000, 2001, and 2002, all years when the broad stock market was down.”
The broad equity markets lagged hedge funds in January, according to the released data, �The MSCI World Equity Index fell -2.3%, the Dow Jones Europe Stoxx 50 lost -2.8%, and the NASDAQ plunged -5.2%.�
The details of the released report show that about 48 percent of the hedge funds in the index posted gains for January. Short selling strategy appears to be one of the strongest performing strategies for the month. On the losing spectrum, Macro and Aggressive Growth strategies reported some of the biggest losses for the month of January. VAN will release an updated version of the report in mid-February.
Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, LLC (“VAN”) is a global hedge fund advisory firm that constructs hedge fund portfolios for international institutions and wealthy investors. VAN bases its work on its research on hedge funds begun in the early 1990s by drawing on a hedge fund database which is one of the world’s largest.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
HedgeCo.Net is the most popular hedge fund database and community in the world. Membership on www.hedgeco.net is FREE and EASY. We also offer FREE LISTINGS for Hedge Funds!
Be sure to check out our sister sites. www.hedgefundlounge.com, www.hedgefundtools.com, and www.hedgefundemployment.com.
