Hedge fund strategies returned 0.85% in August, according to the CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund index, edging the S&P 500 stock index, which turned in a 0.49% return last month. The hedge fund index's August return is an improvement over the -1.35% return posted in July. For the eight months through August, hedge fund strategies have returned 0.82%, compared with -20.21% for the S&P 500.
The highest returns in August were in managed futures, returning 3.4%. Year-to-date through Aug. 31, managed futures have returned 15.9%, better than any other hedge fund strategy.
Short-biased strategies returned 12.3% for the eight months through Aug 31, but were down 1.6% in August, according to the index.
The CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund index comprises 388 hedge funds culled from a database of 2,600 funds. It is administered jointly by Credit Suisse First Boston Inc. and Tremont Advisers.
