Average U.S. Hedge Fund Gains 0.2% Net in May; Year-to-Date Return Rises to 1.8% Net.Business Editors NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2002 The Van U.S. Hedge Fund hedge fund, in finance, a highly speculative, largely unregulated investment device. Originating in the 1950s, the funds "hedge" by offsetting "short" positions (borrowing a security and then selling it at a higher price before repaying the lender) against "long" Index had another winning month in May, earning 0.2% net, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Steven A. Lonsdorf, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of global advisory firm Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc. U.S.-based hedge funds have averaged a net gain in four out of this year's first five months. For the year to date through May, the Average U.S. Hedge Fund has returned 1.8% net. "For the second straight month, U.S. hedge funds have produced gains while most of the major stock market indices Commonly used stock market indices include: Global Large companies not ordered by any nation or type of business (in alphabetical order).
See also: Mend , market performance this year has been disappointing, with the S&P 500 losing -6.5% and the NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on giving up another -17.0% through May. Hedge funds have held their own despite the sell-off Sell-Off The rapid selling of securities, such as stocks, bonds and commodities. The increase in supply leads to a decline in the value of the security. Notes: A sell-off may occur for many reasons. , continuing to average positive returns for 2002. Their ability to make money even in difficult markets has made hedge funds very popular with sophisticated investors over the last few years. Although the Van U.S. Hedge Fund Index was positive in May, offshore hedge funds averaged a -0.1% net loss for the month. For the year to date, the Van Offshore Hedge Fund Index has gained 1.8% net. The most successful hedge fund strategies for May were U.S. Short Selling Short Selling The selling of a security that the seller does not own, or any sale that is completed by the delivery of a security borrowed by the seller. Short sellers assume that they will be able to buy the stock at a lower amount than the price at which they sold short. , Offshore Short Selling, and U.S. Macro, which produced net returns of 3.9%, 2.7%, and 2.5%, respectively. U.S. Short Selling is also the leading strategy for the year to date through May, with a 14.7% net return. U.S. Emerging Markets and Offshore Short Selling follow with year-to-date Year-to-date (YTD) The period beginning at the start of the calendar year up to the current date. gains of 11.6% net and 11.3% net, respectively. "As has been the case for much of the year, short sellers did well in May. Between uncertainty over the strength of the economic recovery, corporate accounting scandals Accounting scandals, or corporate accounting scandals are political and business scandals which arise with the disclosure of misdeeds by trusted executives of large public corporations. , and continued instability instability /in·sta·bil·i·ty/ (-stah-bil´i-te) lack of steadiness or stability. detrusor instability around the world, investor confidence has been waning. Equities continue to be troubled in June and that could spell further gains for hedge fund managers' short portfolios this month," concluded Lonsdorf. May and year-to-date 2002 hedge fund returns by investment strategy were as follows:
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U.S. OFFSHORE
HEDGE FUNDS HEDGE FUNDS
-------- -------- -------- --------
May 2002 YTD 2002 May 2002 YTD 2002
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Strategy Performance
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Aggressive Growth -2.1% -7.7% -1.5% -5.7%
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Distressed Securities 1.0% 4.5% 0.6% 2.9%
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Emerging Markets 0.4% 11.6% -1.1% 3.2%
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Fund of Funds 1.6% 3.1% 0.3% 0.8%
------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Income 0.7% 3.7% 1.2% 4.5%
------------------------------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Macro 2.5% 3.8% 1.3% 4.3%
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Market Neutral - Arbitrage 0.3% 3.0% 0.1% 2.4%
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Market Neutral -
Securities Hedging 1.4% 4.0% 0.4% 2.2%
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Market Timing -0.4% -0.6% 1.3% 2.5%
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Opportunistic 0.4% 3.9% -0.6% 0.9%
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Several Strategies -0.4% -0.8% N/A N/A
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Short Selling 3.9% 14.7% 2.7% 11.3%
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Special Situations -0.2% 1.3% -1.8% 1.7%
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Value 0.2% 2.7% 0.2% 1.2%
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Van Hedge Fund Index 0.2% 1.8% -0.1% 1.8%
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A registered investment advisor Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is a designation obtainable in the United States by an individual who has registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or state regulatory agency (where the primary business is situated or multiple States in some cases) in , Nashville, Tennessee-based Van Hedge Fund Advisors International, Inc. introduces top-performing hedge funds to substantial investors in the U.S. and abroad. The Company's hedge fund index information is based on information received (and not audited or independently verified ver·i·fy tr.v. ver·i·fied, ver·i·fy·ing, ver·i·fies 1. To prove the truth of by presentation of evidence or testimony; substantiate. 2. ) from the hedge funds in an affiliate's databases and may not be representative of all hedge funds. Hedge fund returns are net of fees and performance allocations. The timing of the deduction deduction, in logic, form of inference such that the conclusion must be true if the premises are true. For example, if we know that all men have two legs and that John is a man, it is then logical to deduce that John has two legs. of such fees and performance allocations may affect the reported performance. The May Index was created using a sample of 692 funds. Different statistics may be based on different numbers of funds. Averages are not dollar-weighted. Past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. |
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