The Asset – Early performance indicators point towards a broadly flat performance from hedge funds in April, according to investment management firm GAM. The HFRX Global Index was up by 0.05 percent through April 27, and up three percent year-to-date. This highlights the balancing act funds have had to maintain between a challenging macro environment and solid micro performance, with company balance sheets in aggregate looking robust.
Many managers are positioning themselves to be more cautious than they were for the first quarter of the year as newly released economic data continue to be negatively interpreted, with sovereign risk, high unemployment rates and lagging growth rates becoming a concern. This focus on macro uncertainties has caused cross-asset class correlations to climb as investors watch the ongoing Eurozone crisis and its impact on the global economy with unease. Lingering worries over sustaining Chinese growth and continuing US recovery also had similarly negative effects.
