NASHVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 8, 2003–Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc. (VAN) announced today that the Van Global Hedge Fund Index posted its fourth consecutive winning month inJune with a preliminary return of 1.4% net of fees. The preliminary June Index figure is the average of approximately 330 hedge funds returns. VAN, a leading hedge fund consultant, has producedreturns for the Index back to 1988, making it one of the longest-running of the hedge fund industry’s major benchmarks.
“June was another positive month for Wall Street and another good month for hedge fund investors as well,” noted George Van, Chairman of VAN. “Hedge fund investors are gratified to see that these funds, which generally avoided bear market losses over the last few years, have been able to switch gears and make money in this year’s rebounding stock market.”
Hedge funds’ performance for June closely matched that of the major equity benchmarks. The Van Global Hedge Fund Index’s 1.4% return falls in between the S&P 500’s 1.3% gain and the 1.7% returns of the NASDAQ and Dow.
Gains were widespread among hedge funds last month. Nearly 80% of the June returns reported to VAN thus far are positive. Among the month’s top performers were Emerging Markets, Special Situations and Aggressive Growth strategy hedge funds.
For the first half of 2003, the Index rose 8.2% net of fees, putting it on track for its best year since 1999, when the bull market was at its height. Although hedge fund returns are somewhat influenced by the stock market, they are much less so than mutual funds, which generally do not take advantage of certain investment techniques used by hedge funds, such as short selling. Hedge funds are often referred to as “absolute return” vehicles because they seek to produce profits whether markets are rising or falling.
The Van Global Hedge Fund Index tracks performance of the hedge fund universe dating back to January 1988. Since its inception through the end of last month, the Index has produced a compound annualized return of 15.9%. The Index is based on hedge fund performance after the deduction of all hedge fund fees and expenses. Historical performance of the Index may be viewed at www.hedgefund.com.
An updated June Van Index, based on a larger sample of funds, will be released in mid-July; final results for June will be available at www.hedgefund.com at the beginning of next month. Mid-month and month-end versions of the Van Hedge Fund Indices show hedge fund performance on a global, a U.S. and an offshore basis, as well as by individual investment strategy.
Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc. (“VAN”) is a global hedge fund advisory firm which constructs hedge fund portfolios for international institutions and wealthy investors. VAN bases its work on its pioneering research on hedge funds begun in the early 1990s and by drawing on a hedge fund database which it believes to be the world’s largest.
The Company’s hedge fund index information is based on information received (and not audited or independently verified) from the hedge funds in an affiliate’s databases and may not be representative of all hedge funds. Hedge fund returns are net of fees and performance allocations. The timing of the deduction of such fees and performance allocations may affect the reported performance. Different statistics may be based on different numbers of funds. Averages are not dollar-weighted. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. Average Equity Mutual Fund statistics are derived from Morningstar data.
