REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
- March was a month of pain for investors in market-tracking index funds and sophisticated quant hedge funds alike, as the coronavirus selloff knocked several hedge fund categories.
- But some macro managers and commodity speculators thrived. One macro manager up double-digits told investors mid-month that his childhood spent in Lebanon's civil war helped prepare him for the markets.
- The biggest names in the hedge fund space were tripped up earlier this month, but Millennium and Citadel were able to claw back their losses before the end of March.
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What a difference a month makes.
At the end of February, when the novel coronavirus still seemed a distant threat to many Americans, hedge funds weathered a dip in the global markets reasonably well, according to Hedge Fund Research, losing less than 2% on average while the stock market suffered much sharper declines.
Then coronavirus cases exploded in March both stateside and in European nations, crippling the global economy and forcing governments to close down businesses and borders. In this case, many hedge funds were not spared the pain.
Hedge Fund Research, in a rare occurrence, gave a mid-month update of the managers the data tracker reports on, and said that the average hedge fund fell 4.5% in the first two weeks of March.
Certain types of funds were hit harder, while others have been able to thrive in the volatile environment.
Here's a rundown of the winners, losers, and those in between in the $3.3 trillion industry.
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