Investors are likely eager to see how their hedge funds fared in September amid the global stock market sell-off and volatility in many other markets, especially given the dismal performance posted by many funds in August.
Starting Wednesday evening, results will begin to trickle in. A number of funds have reported partial results, however, which cover half to three quarters of the month in many cases. And several of them have done pretty well, especially in a couple of strategies.
Of course, with eight to ten trading days remaining in the month, a lot could change, especially given how volatile markets have been over the past month or two.
In any case, most of the multistrategy funds for which Alpha has obtained partial September results have managed to squeeze out profits for the period. This follows a profitable August for most of the biggest multistrategy funds.
For example, the Visium Global Offshore Fund has returned 1.8 percent this month through September 18 and is up 9.35 percent for the year. The Visium Balanced Offshore Fund, a long-short equity fund focused solely on the health care industry, gained 2.35 percent for the month through September 18 and is up 13.74 percent for the year. The funds are managed by New York–based Visium Asset Management.
Highbridge Capital Corp.was up very slightly for the month through September 15 and is now up 6.22 percent for the year. It is managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s Highbridge Gávea subsidiary.
Most of the commodity trading advisers were also up in September through the middle of the month, which put several of these funds back on positive footing for the year. For example, through September 23, the Winton Futures Fund, managed by London-based Winton Capital Management, had gained about 3 percent for the month and about 0.9 percent for the year. Through September 18, London-based Man Group’s flagship AHL Diversified fund had returned 1.23 percent and is up 0.31 percent for the year.
Leda Braga’s BlueTrend fund, managed by Geneva-based Systematica Investments, was up 1.14 for the month through September 18 and 4.62 percent for the year, while Stanley Fink’s London-based ISAM (Interational Standard Asset Management) Systematic fund had returned 2.5 percent through September 18 and 6.36 percent for the year.
A number of funds in other strategies started strong in September. They include London-based Odey Asset Management’s Odey European, a long-short equity fund that continues to cut earlier losses. It gained 2.25 percent for the month through September 14. As a result, it trimmed losses to 5.66 percent for the year.
Other funds have been doing a pretty good job maintaining what had been a good year until the summer seesaw began shaking wildly. The Maverick Fund, a long-short equity fund managed by Lee Ainslie III’s Dallas-based Maverick Capital, had shed less than 0.2 percent for the month through September 18. So it is still up more than 20 percent for the year, making Tiger Cub Ainslie one of the best performers of 2015.
For other well-known funds, the picture is not pretty.
Among the activists, William Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings is down 4.7 percent for the month through September 22 after losing 9.2 percent in August. As a result, the fund, managed by New York–based Pershing Square Capital Management, is off 4.8 percent for the year.
Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners, managed by New York–based Trian Fund Management, had fallen about 2 percent for the month through September 18 and is now off 5.35 percent for the year.
Among macro funds, Andrew Law’s Caxton Global Investments, which had been enjoying a pretty good year through August, is down 1.6 percent this month through September 22. Still, it is up 6.35 percent for the year. The fund is managed by New York–based Caxton Associates.
On the other hand, Patrick McMahon’s MKP Opportunity Offshore fund fell about 1 percent for the month through September 18, trimming its gain for the year to 3.25 percent. It is managed by New York–based MKP Capital Management.
Paul Tudor Jones II’s Tudor BVI Global Fund had fallen about 1 percent through September 18. As a result, the fund’s Alt A series is barely positive for the year, up a mere 0.15 percent. The fund is managed by Greenwich, Connecticut–based Tudor Investment Corp.
London-based BH Macro, which invests most of its assets in the Brevan Howard Master Fund, was down 0.82 percent for the month through September 18, cutting its gain for the year to just 0.18 percent. Both BH Macro and Brevan Howard Master Fund are managed by London-headquartered Brevan Howard Asset Management.
