New York (HedgeCo.Net) – BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment Research have reported that hedge funds took in a net $11.4 billion (0.6% of assets) in February, building on an inflow of $4.3 billion in January. The results are based on data from 3,434 funds.

“The hedge fund industry continues to struggle with performance,” said Sol Waksman, president and founder of BarclayHedge. “The industry delivered a return of 0.4% in February, less than half of the S&P 500’s 1.1% rise. In the past 12 months, hedge funds earned 5.8%, while the S&P 500 rose 10.9%.”

The TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Flow Report noted that stock-picking hedge fund managers performed well in February, just as they did in January.

“Managers of Equity Long Only hedge funds rose 1.1% in February, the best performers out of 13 major fund categories,” said Waksman. “Fixed Income and Multi-Strategy are the only two strategies that posted inflows in the past 12 months.”
Funds of hedge funds continued to shed assets, losing $3.3 billion in February and $54.3 billion in the past 12 months. They underperformed the hedge fund industry by 216 basis points in the past 12 months.

The latest TrimTabs/BarclayHedge Survey of Hedge Fund Managers found managers are notably more cautious about April than they were about March. Opinions on the U.S. Dollar Index, 10-year Treasuries, and several other indicators hint that hedge fund managers are turning more defensive.