Hedge funds gained 1.35 percent in January, according to flash estimates from the Barclay Hedge Fund Index.
“Equity markets in developed countries did quite well in January,” says Sol Waksman, the founder and president of The Barclay Group. “Only Ireland and the UK registered losses for the month.”
Barclay’s Merger Arbitrage Index was up 3.21 percent in January, Equity Long Bias gained 2.48 percent, Healthcare and Biotechnology rose 2.26 percent, and the Multi Strategy Index gained 2.23 percent.
Last year’s strongest performer, the Barclay Emerging Markets Index, rose 1.21 percent in January. Emerging Markets gained 22.45 percent in 2006.
All but one of Barclay’s 18 hedge fund indices had positive returns in January, 2007. Equity Short Bias lost 1.37 percent.