Hedge Funds Bounce Back in August

According to Credit Suisse First Boston Tremont Index LLC, the August index came in at 0.85%. The follows drops of 0.84% in June and 1.35% in July. (See  Hedge Funds Slip Again )

By comparison, with its performance in positive territory, hedge funds outpaced two of the three broad equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.84%, Nasdaq shed 1.01% while the S&P rose slightly by 0.49% during the month.

The top performing hedge strategy during August – for the second straight month — was Managed Futures, which came in at a 3.36% gain. That follows a much stronger July hike of 6.12% and a year-to-date gain of 15.87%, CSFB Tremont reported.  Managers of this strategy invest in listed financial and commodity futures markets and currency markets around the world.

Biggest loser in August was Dedicated Short Bias which gave up 1.58% over the month, after gaining 4.41% in July.

Year to date, the index is up 0.82%. That compares to a whopping 32.59% loss for Nasdaq, a 20.21% giveback for the S&P 500 and a 13.55% drop for the Dow Jones.

The CSFB Tremont Hedge Fund Index comprises 388 funds as of August 1 and is constructed using the TASS database of over 2,600 hedge funds. In order to qualify for the inclusion in the index selection universe, a fund must have $10 million under management, a 12-month track record, and an audited financial statement.