Eurekahedge: Hedge Fund Index Gains 2.26% in January

Hedge funds were off to a good start in the first month of 2018, according to an update of Eurekahedge’s Hedge Fund Index.

Eurekahedge’s Hedge Fund Index gained 2.26%1 in January, according to the company in a statement, while CTA/managed futures managers posted the best returns, up 3.84% among strategic mandates. Meanwhile, underlying markets as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local) gained 3.78% over the same period.

However, the spike in volatility in recent days has brought an end to the Trump rally. Short-volatility hedge fund strategies will likely see substantial losses in February, according to Eurekahedge.

Key highlights from Eurekahedge’s January Report:

• Hedge funds gained 2.26% in January with underlying markets, as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local) up 3.78% over the same period. 
• Among developed mandates, North American hedge funds were up 1.89%, followed by Japan and European mandated hedge funds which gained 1.28% each for the month. 
• The Eurekahedge CTA/Managed Futures Hedge Funds Index posted the best January 2018 returns, gaining 3.84%, with underlying trend-following hedge funds leading much of the strength, up 4.69% over the same period. Underlying commodity-focused managers gained 2.38% while FX-focused peers were down a modest 0.01%. 
• Asia ex-Japan hedge funds started the year on a positive note, up 3.58% for the month with strength led by underlying Greater China-focused funds which were up 8.56% over the same period while India focused hedge funds were down 1.46% during the month. 
• Among volatility-focused hedge funds, short volatility hedge funds posted the worst performance in January 2018, down 3.30% while long volatility and relative value hedge funds gained a modest 0.01% and 0.16% over the same period. 
• The Eurekahedge Crypto-Currency Hedge Fund Index was down 4.55% in January following gains of 1477.85% in 2017 as bitcoin began its tumble. 

Eurekahedge’s data was based on 42.55% of funds which have reported January 2018 returns as at 13 February 2018. The company tracks asset flows, hedge fund performance and regional key trends across the hedge fund universe, measuring more than 130 data points on more than 24,000 alternative funds in its database.