Fairfield, Iowa – The Barclay Group announced Thursday the Barclay/Global HedgeSource Index gained 1.03 percent and the CTA Index gained 1.66 percent in May, despite negative forecasts in the press.
Barclays officials say the gains trump any ideas in financial press about “impending hedge fund doom” from the downgrade of General Motors debt and large purchases of GM’s stock.
“During the month of May, the financial press was abuzz with stories of impending hedge fund doom,” said says Sol Waksman, president of The Barclay Group. “It would seem that the obituaries may have been a bit premature.”
During May, 13 of 18 hedge fund strategies were profitable, reversing April’s losses in many sectors. The Technology Index jumped 4.88 percent, offsetting a 3.03 percent loss in April. Equity Long Bias gained 2.92 percent, and Global Macro 1.86 percent. Equity Short Bias was May’s biggest loser, down 3.43 percent, giving back most of its 3.56 percent gain in April.
In Managed Futures, the Barclay CTA Index was up 1.66 percent in May with 73 percent of funds reporting. All six of Barclay’s managed futures sub indices showed gains.
The Diversified Traders Index led the way with a 2.00 percent gain, followed by Systematic Traders at 1.79 percent, and Financials & Metals Traders up 1.38 percent. The Barclay BTOP50 Index, which measures the performance of the largest traders, rose 1.67 percent.