(Reuters) – Hedge funds managed to eke out a small profit in May, data showed on Friday, even as a resurgence of the euro zone debt crisis roiled markets and sent equity prices tumbling.
The GlobeOp Hedge Fund Performance Index, which tracks the performance of the majority of hedge fund services provider GlobeOp’s (GO.L) $187 billion in assets administered, rose 0.43 percent in May, taking returns so far this year to 4.15 percent, the firm said in a statement.
Returns are shown gross, meaning they do not take account of hedge fund operators’ lucrative fees, typically a 2 percent annual management charge and 20 percent of performance.
The gains came despite a sharp sell-off in risk assets during May, when worries intensified about the health of Spanish banks and the global economic recovery showed signs of slowing.
The MSCI World Equity index .MIWD00000PUS slumped more than 9 percent in May, leaving stocks in negative territory for the year, while the Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index .CRB, a benchmark of global commodities markets, fell almost 12 percent.
