Investing September 25, 2003

MSCI: Hedge Funds Return 0.94% in August

September 25, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The MSCI Hedge Fund Composite Index posted a 0.94% final return in August.
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August’s Composite index gain, though, was lower than the MSCI World Equity Index, which was up 1.98%.   For the year, the Composite index is up 9.31%, underperforming its World counterpart’s 14.28% return, according to a MSCI news release.

Compared to the World Sovereign Debt Index, which returned a negative 0.56% in August, the Composite index was better for the month.   For the year, the World Sovereign Debt Index has stayed on the positive side, up 3.43%.

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August’s largest process group gainer was the Multi-Process Group, up 1.92%.   Multi-Process Group funds, strategies that focus on spread relationships between pricing components of financial assets or commodities, has now returned 12.57% year-to-date.

Gains were also recorded in Security Selection and Specialist Credit.   Security Selection, those funds that combine long positions and short sales with the aim of benefiting from their ability in selecting investments while offsetting systematic market risks, ended the month 1.89% higher.   Specialist Credit, those funds that seek to lend to credit-sensitive issuers, was the third best performing process group in August with a 0.89% return, falling off slightly from July’s 1.41% gain (See  MSCI Hedge Fund Index Cools a Bit in July ).  

The remaining two process groups did not fare so well, finishing out August in the red.   The Relative Value Index was 0.12% lower for the month. However it is still positive for the year, up 4.60%.   Directional Trading was down 0.11% in August and with its performance stalled the upward mobility of the MSCI Hedge Fund Diversified Index, as the asset class index managed only a 0.50% gain for the month.   Otherwise, the remaining two asset class indices – Equity and Fixed Income – were up 1.49% and 0.56%, respectively, in August.

The MSCI Hedge Fund Indices are composed of more than 190 indices. More than 1,800 hedge funds have agreed to participate in the database and there are over 1,600 hedge funds currently in the MSCI Hedge Fund Indices and Database.

Compliance September 24, 2003

Feds Grant Form 5500 Filing Relief Due to Isabel

September 24, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Federal officials are giving companies that took the brunt of Hurricane Isabel's fury more time to file their Form 5500 paperwork.
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>The US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced the extension to file a 5500 or 5500-EZ for companies hit by property damage, destruction and power outages from the storm that bull-dozed its way through Southern and Mid-Atlantic states leaving hundreds of thousands of customers in the dark.

>Affected companies who were required to file their Form 5500 on or between September 18, 2003 and November 18, 2003 now have until November 18, 2003 to get it in.

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>The extension applies to plan administrators, employers and other entities located in areas directly affected as identified in IRS’s Tax Relief at    www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=113066,00.html .   The extension also applies to filers located outside the affected areas who were unable to obtain the necessary information from service providers, banks or insurance companies whose operations were directly affected by the hurricane.

Filers entitled to this extension should check Part 1, Box D, on the Form 5500 or Part 1, Box B on Form 5500-EZ, and attach a statement labeled “Hurricane Isabel 2003” explaining the basis for the extension being claimed under this relief. Filers who have additional questions may contact the EFAST Help Line at (866) 463-3278.

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