fisher capital management investing>> India-focused hedge funds dole out best returns in March

Hedge funds are private investment vehicles that may invest in a diverse range of assets and may employ a variety of investment strategies to maintain a hedged portfolio.

These are usually open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified rich investors.

According to HFN database, India-focused hedge funds will be the best performing category across 35 main hedge fund categories, followed by Brazil-focused hedge funds (2.95 per cent) and the emerging markets hedge funds (2.65 per cent). Globally, hedge funds on an average gained 0.06 per cent in March and this is the reason the spotlight is back on India funds.

“Emerging markets strategies rebounded in March, led by funds investing in India and Brazil. Despite the strong month, funds investing in China, India and the MENA (West Asia and North Africa) region are down an average of 1.12 per cent, 6.76 per cent and 4.81 per cent in 2011,” said Peter H Laurelli, vice president of research division, Channel Capital Group, which owns HFN database.

Japan-focused funds have reported an average loss of 4.80 per cent in March. Of the 43 Japan funds reporting performance for March, 40 reported losses and 18 were down more than 5 per cent.

At the end of March, hedge fund managers across the $2.5 trillion industry witnessed robust inflows of $12.5 billion. According to another database, Eurekahedge, as of February hedge funds had attracted $29.53 billion from investors, far above the $10.69 billion of inflows over the same period last year.

Weekly inflows into equity funds in April have been good, indicating global interest in equity investment products including hedge funds. “Despite facing the rising headwinds of high global oil prices and renewed concerns over Portugal’s fiscal finances, weekly inflows into global equities climbed to a year-to-date high of $13.6 billion for the week ended April 6. This is much higher than the $8.8 billion inflows for the previous week,” said Mun Hun Tham, who looks after Asia-Pacific strategy at Daiwa Capital Markets.