Hedge Funds Post First Monthly Gains Since July

(Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds gained 2.9 percent in January, the first positive return since July, as the rally in stocks offered managers some relief.

Six out of seven strategies made money, according to preliminary figures from the Bloomberg Hedge Fund Database. Event-driven funds led the pack, rising 5.4 percent.

Separately, Hedge Fund Research reported on Thursday that the industry gained 3.5 percent on a fund-weighted basis, the strongest monthly increase since September 2010.

January’s gains marks rare good news for fund managers. The industry had its worst performance last year since 2011 as many were unable to sidestep the volatility that pummeled markets. Among the winners last month were multi-strategy funds run by Ken Griffin and Steve Cohen. Michael Hintze’s flagship fund at CQS U.K. posted its best gain in more than two years.

Equity hedge funds posted notable increases last month, rising 4.4 percent in part due to emerging-markets gains. Emerging-market equities surged 8.7 percent last month and the S&P 500 Index jumped 7.9 percent.

CTA/managed futures were the only laggard last month, falling 1.3 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandra Stratton in New York at astratton4@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Alan Mirabella, Melissa Karsh

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