Forbes – The Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund Index returned -0.51% in May according to a preliminary report released today by Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC, a leading hedge fund index provider. In comparison, the S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones Europe Stoxx Index, and the Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index returned -2.88%, -6.19%, -4.25%, and -0.11%, respectively.<\/p>\n
“Once again, the start of summer has proven to be a challenge for many hedge fund managers,” notes Wade McKnight, Vice President of Greenwich-Van. “Emerging market and equity-based strategies posted the biggest losses in the May index results. However, hedge funds as an investment class overall significantly outperformed most traditional benchmarks. Hedge funds with long positions in gold, technology and Japanese securities were hit hardest. Event-driven and market neutral arbitrage managers, on the other hand, succeeded in avoiding losses experienced by the markets at large. These strategies have the potential to be more heavily influenced by deal-specific phenomena rather than broad market implications. Approximately 80% of reporting hedge fund managers beat the S&P 500, while roughly half delivered a positive result.”<\/p>\n
The Index represents the average performance, net of fees, of hedge fund managers that report to Greenwich-Van. Past performance and index construction methodology may be viewed at www.vanhedge.com.<\/p>\n