April 2006
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April 18, 2006
Hedge fund indexes stay positive in first quarter
Major hedge fund indexes ended the first quarter well into positive terrain, with returns ranging from 6.1% to 3.3%. All indexes beat the poor showing of the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond index, which returned -0.5% for the quarter, and many beat the S&P 500 index return of 3.7% and the MSCI World index return of 5.6%.
The returns for the three months ended March 31 were: Barclay Hedge Fund index, 6.1%; HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index, 5.9%; HFN Hedge Fund Aggregate Average, 5.7%; Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund index, 5.7%; Hennessee Hedge Fund index, 5.7%; HFRI Fund of Funds Composite index, 4.8%; HFN Fund of Funds Aggregate Average, 4.7%; S&P 500 Hedge Fund index, 4.0%; and the MSCI Hedge Invest index, 3.3%.
-Pensions & Investments-
Posted by su at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
Nobel to invest in hedge funds for first time
The organisation that funds the Nobel Prizes has decided to invest in hedge funds for the first time, tapping three firms for its maiden investments.
The Nobel Foundation, which has more than $450m in managed capital, has invested in Corbin Capital Partners, Rock Creek Potomac fund and the Carnegie Worldwide Long/Short fund. Although the size of the investments was not disclosed, industry officials said winning an investment mandate of any size from Nobel would be seen a seal of approval for the three funds.
"It is an honour to have been selected by the Nobel Foundation – Nobel is the perfect example of the type of client fuelling our growth," said Tracy McHale Stuart, Corbin's chief executive officer.
Corbin is best known by its former name: Dubin & Swieca Capital Management. The $1.7bn New York fund of funds was started by Highbridge Capital's Glenn Dubin and Henry Swieca in 1984.
While it has more than two decades of successful investing, with good access to the best managers, thanks to Messrs Dubin and Swieca, the founders only turned their attention to building Corbin into a major fund of funds player in the past few years, recruiting Ms McHale Stuart and others to expand the business.
Rock Creek, meanwhile, began life as the hedge fund business of Carlyle Group. But Afsaneh Beschloss, the former World Bank official who started Rock Creek, bought out Carlyle in 2003. The fund of funds firm now has nearly $3bn in assets, mostly institutions, and performance has been in the top decile at its funds.
Carnegie Worldwide Long-Short fund, run by Bo Knudsen and Bengt Seger, has returned 66.7 per cent since its June 2003 inception with little volatility.
For Nobel, the foray into hedge funds offers the foundation greater diversification and more flexibility when it comes to investment styles.
Ake Alteus, the deputy executive director of the Nobel Foundation who led the process, said: "Before March of last year we could not invest in alternatives due to investment rules requiring a high degree of liquidity" in its investments.
Nobel can now put as much as 10 per cent of its strategic portfolio in alternatives, which includes real estate.
-FT.com-
Posted by su at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2006
Hedge funds up 5.62% during 1Q06 - biggest quarterly gain since 2Q03
The Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund Index returned 1.88% in March according to a preliminary report released today by Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC, a leading hedge fund index provider. By comparison, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ and the Dow Jones Europe Stoxx each returned 1.25%, 2.56% and 2.92%, respectively. The Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index lost -0.98%.
"Hedge Funds posted their biggest quarterly showing since 2Q03," notes Wade McKnight, Vice President of Greenwich-Van. "Emerging market and equity-based managers provided the most meaningful contribution to first quarter returns. Approximately 90% of reporting hedge fund managers delivered positive results. With a gain over each of the last 17 calendar years, the Index underscores hedge funds' reputation as absolute return vehicles. Since inception, the Index has produced a net 15.6% compound annualized return."
March 2006 Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund Index preliminary results included 377 funds. An updated March Index return, based on a larger sample of funds will be released mid-April; final results will be available the end of April.
The Index represents average performance, net of fees, of hedge fund managers reporting to Greenwich-Van. Greenwich-Van does not necessarily perform due diligence on reporting managers and the accuracy of information reported is not independently verified and may not be representative of all hedge funds. Hedge fund returns are net of underlying fees and performance allocations. Averages are equal-weighted. Past performance and index construction methodology are available at www.vanhedge.com. Past results are not indicative of future performance.
Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC manages one of the world's largest hedge fund databases and is among the oldest providers of hedge fund indices and research to institutional investors worldwide.
-Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC-
Posted by su at 3:33 PM | Comments (0)