​Hedge Funds
Hedge funds started 2017 under pressure and the overall industry’s model was in question. Performance and fees were the main topic of debate among investors at the beginning of the year, but hedge funds managed to pull a strong year with no down month. Despite losses from some large managers, the industry overall generated strong returns according to HFR data attracting more capital. Per HFR, total hedge fund industry AuM increased by $59bn to $3.21tr, the sixth consecutive quarterly record for total industry AuM. The inflows suggest a sign of regained optimism, but the industry will need to sustain its performance long-term in order to regain its calibre. The oxymoron of the industry is the fact that equity hedge were the best performing strategies amongst hedge funds but suffered the biggest outflows. Macro, CTAs and multi-strategy attracted more capital this year, and given the outlook for more volatility and less central bank intervention, investors target further allocations in those sub-sectors.

The new era of presidency in the U.S. is marked with significant changes, with the Treasury Secretary announcing tax reforms in the next six months and the FED ready to increase rates. Hedge funds have momentum and they extended their January gains into February, with CTAs posting the biggest returns according to HFRX index. Equity hedge, macro and event-driven strategies exhibited similar robust performance and proving that they overcame last year’s underperformance and they gaze into the future with confidence. A Preqin survey evidence a large increase in the number of alternative investors and the performance of alternative asset classes is encouraging for the future of the industry. In debt markets, the risk retention regime leads to lower volumes in CLO issuance and fewer deals. There is an increasing appetite for private debt strategies and the economic outlook may suggest a growth in commitments over the next two years. There are more funds focusing on European credit, which is indicative of the opportunities in the space amid a relatively uncertain political scenery. Private equity fundraising continues in solid pace, while competition for deals is increasing rapidly alongside the number of funds in the market. Adding hedge funds, that compete for similar deals, makes the identification of opportunities even harder. Both private debt and equity strategies focus on the mid-market spectrum as the opportunities there are more attractive. The same scenery prevails in real estate industry with high prices and increased competition being the main feature. The investment activity slowed down and the macro outlook with interest rate growth expectations and political uncertainty are the most significant drivers behind the slowdown. 

STONE MOUNTAIN CAPITAL RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE VOL.27

The recent disheartening performance of Funds of Hedge Funds (FoHFs) gave rise to a debate about whether their model is dying slowly or can still attract institutional money. The most popular investors in the FoHFs space are pension funds and insurance companies looking for safe and well-diversified products to allocate their assets, but their recent losses made them reconsider alternative strategies with similar characteristics. Multi-strategy funds (MS) will compete with FoHFs for assets and the current trend proves, that they are a formidable competitor, as their assets grew from $292bn in Q3 2015 to $316.3bn in Q1 2016 according to BarclayHedge. The industry’s data provider exhibits a plunge in the assets of FoHFs over the same period, as their assets decreased from $448.3bn to $396.5bn. It is clear from the graph below how the strategies converge after 2007 and the financial crisis of 2008.