Hedge funds outperformed underlying equity markets last year
Returns from absolute return and hedge funds were not immune to the global financial crisis last year, averaging minus 17.7 per cent for the year, but they still outperformed the underlying equity markets.
An Australian Fund Monitors (AFM) review of the two sectors in 2008 compared their favourable performance with a minus 41 per cent return of the ASX 200 index and a minus 38 per cent from the S&P 500.
“What seemed to be missing from the hype and endless criticism of hedge funds during the year was their undeniable performance compared with the ASX 200 and other benchmarks,” said AFM chief executive Chris Gosselin.
He said the major issue seemed to be that hedge funds are perceived to be, or are frequently marketed as investment vehicles which could produce ‘uncorrelated returns’ or ‘positive returns’ in all market conditions.
“Some funds clearly did not achieve this goal but the reality is that 88 per cent of funds in the review outperformed the ASX 200, and 25 per cent of them achieved a positive return in the 12 months to December 2008,” he said.
Recommended for you
Australian equity ETFs attracted record inflows of $3.2 billion in 1Q25, while heightened volatility led to a decline in flows for global equity ETFs, according to Vanguard.
The failure of a clinical trial by biotech firm Opthea has caused shares in its backer Regal Partners to decline 52 per cent year-to-date and hit its funds under management, quarterly flows show.
GQG Partners has revealed its quarterly flows for the first three months of 2025 were up 5.8 per cent, after a difficult final quarter of 2024 as a result of institutional redemptions.
Global asset manager Janus Henderson has signed a strategic partnership with life insurer Guardian Life, which will commit US$400 million to accelerate the firm’s fixed income development plans.
