Investing Daily – According to the limited publicly available information on hedge fund performance, 2011 has been a less-than-stellar year for the industry. The Barclay Hedge Fund Index–which is maintained by a private company not affiliated with Barclays Bank–shows that hedge funds have returned just 2.3 percent this year and have significantly underperformed the broad market over the past three years.
Macro-strategy funds, in particular, have struggled amid a steady stream of political and economic crises that have erupted even in relatively stable parts of the world. This unpredictable turmoil has prompted a number of hedge fund managers, including the great George Soros, to exit the business.
