Hedge fund industry performance was up nearly 4% at the halfway point of the year, data from Hedge Fund Research Inc. showed.
The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index was up 3.68% for the six months ended June 30, while the HFRI Asset Weighted Composite index returned 2.44%. The indexes returned 1.14% and 0.43%, respectively, in the three months ended June 30. The fund-weighted index returned 2.51% in the first quarter, while the asset-weighted composite index returned 2%, according the HFR's monthly hedge fund return report.
The best-performing broad strategy indexes in the first half of 2017 were the HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) index, 6.25%, and the HFRI Event-Driven (Total) index, 4.26%. The HFRI Relative-Value (Total) index returned 2.87%, while the HFRI Macro (Total) index was down 0.82%.
The HFRI Fund of Funds Composite index was up 2.59% in the six months ended June 30, with a return of 2.39% in the first quarter and 0.2% in the second quarter.
"For the broad-based HFRI, June marked the eighth consecutive positive month for the first time since the period ending April 2011 and the first time the index had 15 out of 16 consecutive monthly gains since the period ending April 2004," said HFR President Kenneth J. Heinz in the report, noting hedge fund "managers have effectively adapted to the current low-interest-rate, low-volatility environment, while remaining focused on catalysts for an inflection point in implied volatility, strategically and tactically positioned to navigate possible near-term shifts."
