WEST PALM BEACH, FL (www.hedgeco.net) – The Van Global Hedge Fund Index rose 1.6% net of fees in February according to Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, LLC (VAN). The gains in February followsmall losses recorded by the index in January. Year-to-date, the index has gained 1.5 percent on the average. George Van, Chairman of VAN said, “Hedge funds delivered broad-based gains in February,with four out of every five funds in the Van Global Hedge Fund Index showing a positive result.� Van added, �Although hedge funds overall didn’t keep pace with the stock market last month, theyremain ahead of both stocks and bonds for the year to date.”
The Van International Hedge fund index which is the composite of hedge funds domiciled in foreign jurisdictions gained 1.6 percent in February as well but its year-to-date stands at 2.0 percent net of fees.
Van International noted that, �The S&P 500 gained 2.1% in February, a return that only about 29% of the funds in the Van Global Hedge Fund Index were able to surpass. The MSCI World Equity Index and the Dow Jones Europe Stoxx 50 produced February gains of 3.0% and 4.2%, respectively. Bonds lagged hedge funds, though, as the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index (LBABI) slipped -0.6% for the month.�
Hedge funds however continue to outperform equities according to Van regardless of their low returns in January and February. Details of Hedge fund�s performance for February by strategy show that, �All but one of Van�s 13 individual global hedge fund strategy indices made gains in February. Emerging Markets turned in another strong month, with its 3.5% net gain placing it atop all 13 strategies.�
Other strong performers in February according to Van�s data include, �Value and Opportunistic, two long/short equity strategies that gained 2.3% net and 2.2% net, respectively. The lone loser for the month was Short Selling, which lost -0.4% net after being the most profitable strategy in January, when it gained 2.3% net.�
Van will post its final February returns at the end of March, after additional funds have submitted their returns to the industry tracker. Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, LLC (“VAN”) is a global hedge fund advisory firm, which constructs hedge fund portfolios for international institutions and wealthy investors. VAN began constructing hedge fund indexes in the 1990�s.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
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