Financial Standard – Long/short hedge fund managers increased their net exposure to equity markets, allowing them to post positive returns last month, according to a replication index.

The Credit Suisse Long/Short Equity Replication Index, which replicates the performance of major hedge fund strategies, was up almost 2 per cent (net) in July.

At the same time, the Credit Suisse Global Macro Replication Index crept into positive territory by 3 basis points.

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Tags: basis-points, credit-suisse, global macro, hedge fund strategies, hedge-fund-managers, long short equity, replication, short hedge

Reuters UK- Spanish property firm Martinsa Fadesa’s demise is a sign hedge funds are pushing hard to make profits out of ailing companies and may cause insolvencies in Spain to speed up.

Hedge funds which bought Martinsa Fadesa debt at discounts of as much as 50 percent of its value could now profit from its administration process, because an expected sale of assets may pay them back at a price closer to face value.

Martinsa Fadesa said on Monday it would file for administration after it failed to raise funds and meet debt payments, marking one of the biggest corporate failures in the country’s history.

Such vulture funds may not care if a company goes bust, teaching Spanish companies — used to cosy long-time relationships with regional savings banks such as La Caixa — a painful lesson in modern finance.

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Tags: ambiguity, basis-points, caja-de-ahorros-de-valencia, initiative, investment-arm, losses, mainstream, secured-debt, spanish-property, ty