Iowa-based hedge fund tracking consultancy, The Barclay Group, says emerging markets hedge funds are out-performing other strategies.
“Recent articles in the financial press proclaiming an era of diminished hedge fund returns obviously haven’t taken emerging market funds into consideration,” says Sol Waksman, president of The Barclay Group.
Barclay’s figures show Emerging Markets jumped 4.73 percent in February. Equity Long Bias gained 2.51 percent, and Global Macro was up 2.14 percent. Convertible Arbitrage fell 0.55 percent. Overall, the Barclay/GHS Hedge Fund Index, with more than 35% of funds reporting a February return, gained 2.06 percent.
“Emerging markets are only now reaching their 1994 highs after having gone sideways for over a decade,” says Timothy Mistele, CFA, Senior Managing Director of Everest Capital. “Meanwhile, earnings have soared, so valuations are at near-record lows. That’s why we think this sector will continue to do well in the future.”
Everest’s Frontier emerging markets fund was up 7.9 percent net in February and 26.0 percent in 2004.
In Managed Futures, the Barclay BTOP 50 Index, representing the performance of the largest CTAs, gained 1.03 percent. Diversified Traders rose 0.45 percent, while Agricultural Traders dropped 2.27 percent.
“Investors often question whether the larger CTA firms can continue to perform as assets increase,” says Waksman. “February results show quite clearly that they can.”
The Barclay Group, established in 1985, tracks more than 4,100 hedge funds and managed futures programmes.