The global hedge fund industry returned +1.75 percent in December bringing aggregate 2019 full-year returns to +9.74 percent, according to eVestment December 2019 hedge fund performance data. 2019 marked the industry’s best aggregate returns since 2013, when the industry returned +12.58 percent.
For the year, Russia-, China- and Brazil-focused funds were performance leaders by a wide margin. Russia-focused funds returned +26.69 percent for 2019, China-focused funds returned +23.15 percent last year and Brazil-focused funds closed out 2019 at +21.68. However, where there is great reward, there can be great risk: All three of these fund categories were in the red in 2018. For Russia- and China-focused funds, the losses were substantial, with these funds returning –13.22 percent and –16.62 percent, respectively, in 2018.
Other interesting points from eVestment’s year-end hedge fund data include:
Among primary strategies tracked by eVestment, Long/Shor