Greenwich Van Hedge Index Returns 2% in April

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

23 May 2007

The Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index returned 2.04% in April, for year-to-date performance of 4.81%.

By comparison, the S&P 500, MSCI World Equity, FTSE 100, and Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond indices were up in April by +4.43% (+5.09% YTD), +4.21% (+6.36% YTD), +2.24% (+3.68% YTD), and +0.54% (+2.05% YTD), respectively.

"Hedge funds continue to deliver solid returns, but with significantly less risk than equities," noted Ben Rossman, General Manager. "Over the last five year period, for example, hedge funds annualized volatility measured about 4.5%, which is roughly a third of the 12% volatility of the equity indices."

17 of 18 strategies followed by Greenwich ended the month in positive territory. Futures strategies led, up +4.42%, owing largely to the ability of managers to capitalize on strength in energy prices and Euro and Sterling valuations. Short sellers, which account for roughly 1% of index constituents, were the exception; down -2.91% for the month (-3.03% YTD).

The Directional Trading Group surged in April, returning +3.35%, bringing year-to-date performance to +2.38%. Futures, Market Timing and Macro sub-strategies posted respective returns of +4.42% (+1.72% YTD), +2.07% (+3.49%YTD), and +1.30% (+2.62% YTD).

The Specialty Strategies Group had another strong month, yielding +2.44% in April, for a year-to-date return of +6.17%. Emerging Markets, Multi-Strategy, and Income sub-strategies gained +3.35% (+7.27% YTD), +1.98% (+6.04% YTD), and +0.97% (+3.29% YTD), respectively.

The Long-Short Equity Group was up +2.03% in April, for year-to-date performance of +5.27%. Opportunistic, Value, Aggressive Growth, and Short Selling sub-strategies returned +2.73% (+6.20% YTD), +2.13% (+5.44% YTD), +2.05% (+5.14% YTD), and -2.91% (-3.03% YTD), respectively.

The Market Neutral Group was up +1.18% for the month, and +4.73 year-to-date. Event-Driven, Equity Market Neutral, and Market Neutral Arbitrage sub-strategies returned +1.71% (+6.42 YTD), +1.24% (+3.79% YTD), and +0.79% (+3.92% YTD), respectively.

Recommended