Hedge funds started the year up 2.20 percent in January with managers reporting performance-based gains of $20.3 billion while investor subscriptions stood at $21.7 billion at the start of the year, according to the Eurekahedge Billion Dollar Hedge Fund Index.
The report noted that in annual year 2017, final asset flow figures show that managers saw inflows totaling $114.6 billion while performance-based gains stood at $107.3 billion over the same period.
The Eurekahedge Billion Dollar Hedge Fund Index returned 1.77 percent in January; it's best monthly return since January 2012 which translated into performance-based gains of $12.8 billion during the month with net inflows of $12.8 billion recorded. Over the past year, billion dollar hedge funds recorded strong investor interest with net inflows totaling $66.5 billion while performance-based gains stood at $53.7 billion.
It noted that North American hedge funds registered the strongest growth in AUM among all regional mandates in 2017, growing their asset base by $136.4 billion over the year. Investor allocations to the region stood at $13.3 billion as of January 2018, while $12.8 billion of performance-based gains were recorded. This brings the AUM of North American hedge fund industry to reach a record high of $1.66 trillion.
CTA/managed futures hedge funds posted the best January 2018 returns, gaining 3.54 percent, with underlying trend-following hedge funds leading much of the strength, up 4.72 percent over the same period. Underlying commodity-focused managers gained 2.28 percent while FX-focused peers were down a modest 0.18 percent. Managers reported performance-based gains of US$6.9 billion during the month, while net investor inflows of $2 billion were recorded.
Hedge funds, Eurekahedge Billion Dollar Hedge Fund Index, North America
