Van Hedge Fund Index Sustains Loss In March

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

11 April 2005

The Van Global Hedge Fund Index declined 0.9% net of fees in March according to a preliminary report released last week by Van Hedge Fund Advisors International.

"March was a difficult month for hedge funds," noted George Van, Chairman of VAN. "Nearly two-thirds of the funds that have reported so far have negative results."

“Managers investing in Emerging Markets, which was the top-performing strategy for the first two months of the year, appear to be the worst hit based on early reporting. It should be noted, however, that hedge funds, on year-to-date basis, preserved capital during a down period for the equity markets," he explained.

Despite the losses, hedge funds fared better than the major equity benchmarks last month as the S&P 500 fell by 1.8%, the MSCI World Equity Index fell by 1.5% and the Dow Jones Europe Stoxx 50 fell by 3.1%.

Hedge fund performance also beats these benchmarks on a year-to-date basis. The Van Global Hedge Fund Index has a preliminary year-to-date return through March of 0.7% net while the S&P 500 sustained a 2.1% loss in the first quarter. The MSCI World Equity Index and the Dow Jones Europe Stoxx 50 have sustained losses of 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively, for the year.

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