Van Global Hedge Fund Index Up 0.1%

In March, Macro and Special Situations were among the better-performing winning strategies for the month while Short Selling and Emerging Markets, a strong performer in prior months, both show preliminary losses, the preliminary results show.   The Van Global Hedge Fund Index rose to a preliminary value of 10,972.02 at the end of March, according to a news release.

With March’s meager gain, the Van Global Hedge Fund Index managed a 3.1% first quarter gain.  In comparison, the S&P 500 produced a first quarter gain of 1.7% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite each fell -0.4%.

“We’re pleased to see that, on the whole, hedge funds preserved capital in March, despite losses among all the major stock market benchmarks” noted George Van, Chairman of VAN. “Of the hedge funds that have reported to us thus far, close to 60% were profitable in March, while over 80% managed to best the S&P 500’s -1.5% return for the month.”

Historical performance of the Index may be viewed at www.hedgefund.com .