Hedge Funds gave up 3.06 per cent in October according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index compiled by BarclayHedge, versus a 6.84 per cent decrease in the S&P 500 Total Return Index. Year to date, the Barclay Hedge Fund Index is down 1.90 per cent, while the S&P has gained 3.01 per cent.
“Slowing growth, rising interest rates and trade wars contributed to the largest monthly decline in the S&P 500 since September 2011,” says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. “US equity markets lost approximately USD2 trillion in value during the month.”
Overall, 16 of Barclay’s 17 hedge fund indices had losses in October, while only one index had a gain.
In response to the selloff in tech stocks, the BarclayHedge Technology Index dropped 6.70 per cent in October. Equity Long Bias lost 5.48 per cent, Pacific Rim Equities gave up 3.69 per cent, Healthcare & Biotechnology lost 3.42 per cent, and Emerging Markets were down 3.41 per cent.
“Nasdaq dropped 9.2 per cent in October, its worst monthly decline since November 2008 when it lost 10.8 per cent. The biggest names in the technology sector -Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google -were among the biggest losers,” says Waksman.
The only Barclay Hedge Fund index with a gain in October was Fixed Income Arbitrage, which was up 0.17 per cent.
At the end of October, seven hedge fund indices still have positive returns for the year, while 10 now have losses.
The Healthcare & Biotechnology Index leads all indices with a 13.85 per cent gain, Distressed Securities are up 7.13 per cent, Technology has gained 5.60 per cent, Fixed Income Arbitrage is up 1.95 per cent, and the Convertible Arbitrage Index has gained 1.76 per cent.
Year to date, the Emerging Markets Index has lost 10.68 per cent, Pacific Rim Equities are down 5.57 per cent, the Multi-Strategy Index has lost 2.61 per cent, and Equity Long Bias is down 2.48 per cent.
The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gave up 2.69 per cent in October, and has moved into negative territory with a 2.34 per cent loss for the year.
