August’s top performance was turned in by the Hennessee Pacific Rim Index with a return of 5.85%, as the US recovery drove Japan’s export market.   Year-to-date the Pacific Rim Index is 15.59% better and the overall Hennessee Index has returned 12.26%, according to the Hennessee Hedge Fund Group.

The Latin America Index was August’s second best performer with a return of 5.22%, a rally that was supported by the Economy Minister of Argentina’s plans to boost the supply of credit to consumers and local businesses and the prospect of future growth in Brazil.   Further, August’s returns helped pad the index’s impressive 29.22% performance in 2003.

In third place was the Emerging Markets Index, posting a return of 3.95% for August, boosted by the continued flow of assets into this class from investors in mutual funds and hedge funds that are betting on a global recovery to carry this class. Year-to-date the index is up 15.23.

On the other side of the balance sheet, for the fifth month in a row, the Short Biased Index was the worst performer, posting a negative 1.08% in August and now 15.54% lower year-to-date.   This performance was then followed by the -0.56% return of the Convertible Arbitrage Index in August and the -0.31% notched by the Regulation D Index.

Otherwise, the index’s numbers kept pace with the broader market indices: the S&P 500 Index was up 1.92%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1.97% higher and the Nasdaq Index was up 4.35% in August.   Last month, the index posted a 1.24% return by comparison (See  Hennessee: Hedge Funds Up 1.24% In July ).