Absolute Returns

State Street’s GX Private Equity Index Shows Fund Distributions Continue to Outpace Capital Drawdowns, Driving the Quarterly Return to 4.2% in the Second Quarter of 2015...

Markets were on standby mode ahead of the Fed’s meeting last week. Hedge funds were flat and there was little dispersion in returns across the managers (see chart). Event-Driven outperformed as equity volatility edged lower. Meanwhile, Fixed Income strategies underperformed as sovereign bond yields moved higher.

The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was down -2.7% in August. 1 out of 12 Lyxor Indices ended the month in positive territory. The Lyxor Convertible Arbitrage Index (+3.3%), the Lyxor L/S Equity Variable Bias Index (-0.7%), and the Lyxor L/S Equity Market Neutral Index (-1.1%) were the best performers.

At the turn of the month, hedge funds rebounded as market conditions improved. The Lyxor Hedge Fund Index was up 0.4% last week, following a 3.3% drawdown in August. Year to date, hedge funds have demonstrated their ability to protect portfolios, returning - 0.3% whilst the MSCI World and JPM Global Aggregate Bond Index were down 7% and 2.3% respectively.

The deflation and growth scares morphed into a vicious cycle last week. Multiple trading anomalies were observed, especially on Monday, suggesting that systematic and algorithmic trading amplified the sell-off.