Hedge funds close the quarter on fourth-straight monthly gain

HFR data released Friday reveal that hedge funds in September posted their strongest performance since February. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index rose 1.1% during the month - its fourth-straight monthly increase. According to HFR, gains were led by equity-sensitive strategies, but relative value and event-driven funds also performed well in light of strong credit and M&A environments. Global macro funds, which typically exhibit low correlations with traditional asset classes, continue to trail year-to-date from a performance perspective as the MSCI ACWI IMI index was up 13.5% and the BarCap GlobalAgg Total Return index was up 4.8% through September.