Good and Bad Returns In The Hedge Fund World

Initial results show that the Credit Suisse / Tremont Hedge Fund Index was down 5 percent in October (see MarketWatch article) - final numbers will be released on November 17th. Not surprising, fixed income arbitrage suffered some of the worst monthly losses, losing 17.75 percent. Emerging markets were close behind with 15.36 percent in losses. Fixed income managers have suffered as a result of loses in mortgage-backed securities and corporate bonds, each of which have fallen in price due to a combination of decreasing credit quality, forced selling, and decreased liquidity. Managed futures and short bias funds are both up for the month, and year-to-date. Convertible arbitrage is down the most year-to-date, losing 19.45 percent (which while bad is still better than the broader market losses).