Hedge funds end 2014 up 4.6%

Hedge funds closed the final month of the year in positive territory. The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index was up 0.25% in December, while the MSCI World Index finished the month down 0.80%.

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In 2014 as a whole, hedge funds were up 4.57%, falling behind underlying markets as the MSCI World Index returned 6.79% over the same period. Roughly 18% of the fund managers have posted double digit returns in 2014, down from 35% in 2013.

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Here are some key findings for December 2014.

• The US$2.14 trillion hedge fund industry grew its asset base by US$125.9 billion in 2014, roughly half of the US$240.4 billion increase recorded in 2013.
• Net investor flows for 2014 were down to US$39.8 billion from US$137.5 billion in 2013, with 2H 2014 seeing investors redeem US$36 billion.

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• Asia ex-Japan investing hedge funds outperformed global peers for the third consecutive year returning 9.39% in 2014 — the highest among all regional mandates.
• CTA/managed futures funds delivered the best performance among all strategic mandates, up 9.60% in 2014, as managers won big on oil and currency futures.
• On a year-to-date basis, Indian hedge funds are the top performers with gains of 39.05%, while Eastern Europe and Russia mandated funds delivered the worst results down 22.58% for the year.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.