Investing June 15, 2001

Tremont Hedge Fund Index Edges up 0.8% in May

June 15, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund Index was up 0.8% for May 2001, up from 0.7% in April, with emerging markets and global macro investing the month's top performing strategies.
Reported by

During the month of May:

  • the emerging market category increased by 2.4% in comparison with its 0.5% drop in April
  • global macro increased by 2.1% compared to a 0.7% increase the previous month
  • managed futures were up by 0.8%, up from their 5.5% decline in April.

Year to Date

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Year to date, the CSFB/Tremont Hedge Fund Index increased by 1.5%, with the top performing 2001 investment strategies being:

  • global macro, which increased by 10.3%, is where managers carry long and short positions in the major capital or derivative markets, both emerging and developed
  • convertible arbitrage, which rose 8.4%, is where positions are designed to generate profits from the fixed income security as well as the short sale of the stock
  • Event driven, which increased by 6.3%, is designed to capture price movement generated by anticipated corporate events.

Major Benchmarks

Over the month, the major benchmarks returned as follows:

  • the Dow Jones Industrial average increased by 1.6%, compared with its 8.7% return in April
  • the S&P 500 was up by 0.5%, dropping from 7.7% the previous month
  • the Nasdaq fell by 0.3%, following April’s 15% gain
  • the MSCI EAFE rose 3.8% in US dollar terms after an increase of 6.7%
  • the MSCI World index fell by 1.5% in US dollar terms, compared with a 7.2% increase the previous month.
Benefits June 14, 2001

Shortfall of IT Workers Remains

June 14, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The tech bubble has burst, markets are volatile and fears of a recession abound, yet businesses are still struggling to fill information technology (IT) positions, according to an annual survey.
Reported by

The 2001 IT Staffing and Compensation Guide compiled by META Group, and based interviews with over 500 compensation and IT specialists, reports a shortfall of 600,000 workers, particularly those with IT skills in areas such as:

· networking,

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· Web development,

· database management,

· supply chain collaboration,

· Java,

· business-to-business integration, and

· commerce chain management.

The gap represents a modest degree of staffing relief for employers, who are enduring a five-year IT worker shortage that peaked at nearly one million in 2000.

As demand outpaces supply, compensation for technology workers over their non-IT counterparts has increased significantly. On the subject of remuneration, the survey found that

· Almost 70% of respondents pay IT employees 10% to 20% more than their other workers, compared with only 42% of companies in last year’s survey.

· Three-fifths of the sample offer bonuses to IT employees, compared to 50% last year.

In addition, the report found a reduced concern over retention. Some 60% of respondents still view it as a serious issue, compared to 77% in 2000, while 40% no longer see it as their chief concern, as opposed to 24% in 2000.

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