After a long string of redemptions, hedge fund flows turned positive in February and for the year to date, figures out this week showed.
Hedge funds netted an estimated $7.9 billion (€7.3 billion) of inflows in February, a month that saw over 70% of funds perform positively for three months running, according to eVestment.
Hedge funds endured net outflows in each of the last five months, and seven of the last eight, prior to February’s net inflows, eVestment said in its ‘February 2017 Hedge Fund Asset Flows Report’.
Total industry assets under manager were $3.085 trillion, the highest since July 2015.
Macro strategies are now more in demand after a “disappointing” year for flows in 2016, said Peter Laurelli, eVestment global head of research.
Macro strategies lost money last year because 2015 saw erratic returns, Laurelli said, but investors “appear to have noticed the benefit many macro managers were able to provide investors in 2016”. The ten largest macro funds significantly outperformed their peers in 2016.
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