Hedge funds start 2017 on a positive note

Hedge funds started the year on a positive note, up 0.84 percent during the month of January. Meanwhile, underlying markets, as represented by the MSCI AC World Index (Local), gained 1.49 percent over the same period, according to the Eurekahedge report.

Among regional mandates, Latin American hedge fund managers topped the tables, gaining 3.47 percent while event driven managers posted the best returns, up 1.95 percent among strategic mandates.

Financial markets were still hinged on the developments post-Trump win with US equity markets trading higher at the start of January on the back of encouraging US macro data. The flow of economic data from major economies outside of the US has also signalled an encouraging outlook on the global economy, it said.

"However, this still has to be taken with a pinch of salt as we are yet to see the full impact of Trump’s protectionist policies on America’s trade partners. While there are understandable jitters on an 'America First' rhetoric, Trump could be treading political sensitivities too precariously," the report said.

The Eurekahedge 50 Index, an annually rebalanced index comprising of 50 elite hedge funds with strong risk-adjusted returns and combined AUM of almost $150 billion has been rebalanced for annual year 2017 and the new list of index constituents can be accessed here. The Eurekahedge 50 Index was up 4.33 percent in 2016, outperforming the average billion dollar hedge fund by almost 200 basis points during the year.