EQUITY HEDGE DRIVES HFRI JULY GAINS ON EARNINGS, M&A

The HFRI Indices flash update for July 2013  has been posted. Highlights include:

HFRI Technology/ Healthcare Index advances over 4 percent in July, best month since 2010; Shareholder activism, Equity special situations lead Event Driven

Hedge funds posted gains across Equity Hedge, Event Driven & Relative Value Arbitrage strategies in July, as most strategies reversed losses from the prior month on strong earnings, acceleration of M&A activity, moderating concerns of a sharp rise in interest rates and receding macro risks. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite gained +1.4 percent for the month, the highest monthly performance since January, according to data released today by HFR, the established leader in the indexation, analysis, and research of the global hedge fund industry.

The HFRI Equity Hedge Index led strategy performance in July with a gain of +2.5 percent; Equity Hedge gains were broad based across sub-strategies, sparked by strong earnings reports by Starbucks, Facebook and US Financials and led by HFRI Technology/Healthcare, Energy/Basic Materials and Fundamental Value strategies. The HFRI Equity Hedge: Technology/Healthcare Index gained +4.0 percent in July, the best monthly performance since September 2010, while the HFRI EH: Energy/Basic Materials posted a gain of +3.7 percent, the best monthly performance for energy focused funds in 18 months. Fundamental Value strategies added +3.3 percent in July, with contributions from US, European and Asian exposures, as well as from US Consumer, Financial and Energy sectors. With the July performance, Equity Hedge surpassed YTD performance of Event Driven, leading all main strategy indices with a +7.7 percent gain.

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