Investing April 28, 2003

MSCI Hedge Fund Index Slides 0.47% in March

April 28, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - After experiencing three months of positive returns, final data shows the MSCI Hedge Fund Indices slid into the red by 0.47% in March.
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March’s numbers came in lower than February’s 0.81% gain (See   MSCI Hedge Fund Index Achieves Slight February Gain).  However, the index performed better than the MSCI World Equity Index, which slid 0.56%.  For the year, the index is up 1.69%, far outperforming its World counterpart, which is down 5.50%, according to a MSCI news release.

Components

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Unlike February, March was dragged down by negative returns in Directional Trading, those strategies based upon speculating on the direction of market prices of currencies, commodities, equities, and bonds in the futures and cash markets, which was 3.53% lower.  Comparatively, Directional Trading was February’s biggest gainer, up 4.01%.

Otherwise gains were seen across the board.   March’s biggest gainer was the Specialist Credit funds, up 0.75%.  Specialist Credit, those funds thatseek to lend to credit-sensitive issuers, was likewise buoyed by returns in Long-Short Credit and Distressed Securities, which gained 0.98% and 0.87%, respectively.

Likewise, gains were seen in Multi-Process Group and Relative Value.  Multi-Process Group funds,those strategies that focus on spread relationships between pricing components of financial assets or commodities, became the second best performing process group for March with a 0.52% return.  Relative Value, strategies that focus on spread relationships between pricing components of financial assets or commodities, was up 0.48%.

March’s other gainer was the Security Selection Index, those managers who combine long positions and short sales with the aim of benefiting from their ability in selecting investments while offsetting systematic market risks.   Security Selection managed to reverse February’s negative 0.45% return, ending March 0.07% higher.

Broken down by asset class, March’s top performer was the MSCI Hedge Fund Fixed Income Index,which gained 0.87%.   This performance was followed by the MSCI Hedge Fund Equity Index gaining 0.10%, while the MSCI Hedge Fund Diversified Indexfell 2.98%.

The MSCI Hedge Fund Indices are composed of more than 160 indices. More than 1,700 hedge funds have agreed to participate in the database and there are over 1,100 hedge funds currently in the MSCI Hedge Fund Indices and Database.

Compliance April 25, 2003

EEOC Expands Mediation Program

April 25, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Civil rights boards in nine states are joining the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s voluntary mediation program to settle private-sector discrimination charges.
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>Under a pilot program, the agency’s district offices will send appropriate charges to the participating Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) for mediation. If both sides can hammer out an agreement, the FEPA mediator will help the parties draft a settlement agreement, which is then returned to the EEOC for closure under routine procedures. If the parties are unable to settle, the case goes back to the EEOC for investigation, the agency said in an announcement. Local EEOC officials will monitor and document the FEPAs’ mediation performance.

>The latest agencies to join the EEOC program on a contract basis include:

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  • The Alaska Commission for Human Rights
  • The City of New York Commission on Human Rights
  • The Florida Commission on Human Rights
  • The Indiana Civil Rights Commission
  • The Iowa Civil Rights Commission
  • The Kansas City Human Relations Department
  • The Ohio Civil Rights Commission
  • The New Mexico Department of Labor
  • The South Carolina Human Affairs Commission.

>The launch of the FEPA Mediation Pilot follows the recent implementation of a “Referral Back” Mediation Pilot for private employers, in which discrimination charges filed with the EEOC will be sent back to a participating employer’s internal dispute resolution program, as appropriate.

>Under the EEOC’s National Mediation Program, first implemented in 1999, EEOC has conducted more than 44,000 mediations, resolving over 29,000 charges and obtaining over $400 million in benefits with an average processing time of 86 days. In total, EEOC maintains contractual relationships and worksharing agreements with over 90 FEPAs nationwide to process discrimination charges filed against private employers or state and local governments.

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