PATHETIC: Hedge Funds, It Turns Out, Are Hedging

The story of hedge fund returns this year has been split into two chapters. Hedge funds were flat in the first half of 2011, but they have outperformed the market since the beginning of July. Goldman analysts say that as the stock-market correction pushed the S&P 500 down 11% in the third quarter through Aug. 12, the typical hedge fund has decreased only 1%.

After nearly 2,500 hedge funds were liquidated in the last stock-market crash in 2008 and 2009, according to data from Hedge Fund Research, only 181 hedge funds blew up through the first quarter of 2011. Could it be that hedge funds, which have been vilified for aggressive investing, are actually hedging risk?

"It's something that has been happening since the end of 2010," says Peter Laurelli, vice president of the research division at Channel Capital Group's HedgeFund.net. His data show that while hedge fund redemptions outpaced allocations in July for the first time in 13 months, performance was positive with a return of 0.8%. By comparison, the S&P 500 Total Return Index fell 2% during July. Data for August aren't yet available.

"It's not as recent as the last month or two," Laurelli adds. "They've noticed the decreasing economic fundamentals globally. We're seeing the net-long exposure decrease over time as a result, and that is likely a more defensive positioning. In reading through some of the reports from funds, we see that net-long exposure has decreased."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11230055/1/hedge-funds-it-turns-out-are-hedging.html

Oh man

You would expect that (all HF's combined) when the market is down.

I wouldn't trust them to run a hot dog stand... schmucks!

PATHETIC: Hedge Funds, It Turns Out, Are Hedging

PATHETIC: Hedge Funds, It Turns Out, Are Hedging

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