WEST PALM BEACH, FL (www.hedgeco.net) – The Van Global Hedge Fund Index gained 0.8% net of fees in August, according to new data released by the hedge fund index provider, Van Money Manager Research,LLC (VAN). The new data continued to strengthen hedge funds strong performance in the summer, according to VAN’s data, hedge funds have gained an average of 4.4 percent from June through August.

Kevin Campbell, Vice President of VAN said, “All twenty of VAN’s individual hedge fund strategy or sub-strategy indices rose in August, led by Short Selling (+2.9%).” Campbell also noted that, “Given the decline in the U.S. equity markets, this should come as no surprise. What is noteworthy, however, is that the other long/short equity strategies (i.e., Aggressive Growth, Opportunistic, and Value) were also positive, displaying hedge fund’s ability to profit, even in unfavorable environments. Other indices that performed well in August were Distressed Securities and Emerging Markets, both of which gained 1.4% during the month.”

  The new data showed that Emerging Markets has been the best performing strategy, up 8.9%. Funds employing this strategy have benefited from a positive environment. Year-to-date through August, the FTSE All World Emerging Markets Index is up 15.8%. In spite of improved performance from June to August, Convertible Arbitrage remains the worst performing strategy for the year, down -3.8%. The only other strategy in the red is Futures, which is down -1.1%.”

 Hedge Funds continue to outperform the equity markets, according to the released data, “The U.S. equity markets performed poorly with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ, and Russell 2000 losing -0.9%, -1.2%, -1.5%, and -1.9%, respectively.” The final August returns for the Van Hedge Fund Indices will be calculated at the end of September, after additional funds have submitted their return data. VAN is a global hedge fund index provider that gathers information on hedge funds worldwide. VAN bases its work on its and its affiliates’ pioneering research on hedge funds begun in the early 1990s.

Paul Oranika
Contributing Writer

HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net

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