Local hedge funds enjoyed one of their best performances in 2009 as equity markets rebounded.
Australian hedge funds enjoyed one of their best performances on record in 2009 as equity markets rebounded sharply from the sell-off experienced amid the global financial crisis, according to a report by Australian Fund Monitors (AFM).
Local hedge funds produced average returns of 17.54 per cent in 2009, compared with a 17.74 per cent loss a year earlier.
The best-performing strategies in 2009 were equity long, equity 130/30, equity long/short and equity buy/write, but those strategies failed to fully recoup the losses in 2008, the AFM report said.
Baker Steel Gold and OC Dynamic Equity topped performances in 2009 among equity long funds, returning 96.93 per cent and 82.79 per cent, respectively.
Within the equity/long short category, the best performers were Naos Small Companies and OC Concentrated Equity, which gained 174.85 per cent and 155.87 per cent, respectively.
HFA Diversified Investments (Wholesale) and FRM Absolute Alpha topped peers among global diversified funds, returning 19.12 per cent and 13.39 per cent, respectively.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index of stocks jumped 30.84 per cent in 2009.
"There will no doubt be those who choose to view hedge fund performance in 2009 as being below par compared with the ASX," the AFM report said.
"After all, only 18 per cent of the 241 funds tracked by AFM outperformed the ASX. This compares with 2008 when 91 per cent of funds outperformed the ASX in a falling market."
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