Hedge fund managers had a tough month in March, lagging behind equity and bond benchmarks but outperforming equity markets, according to firms who monitor their performance.
The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index was down 1.9% in March and down 3.5% in 2008. The Standard & Poors 500 index dropped 0.6% and was down 10% overall for the first quarter. The Nasdaq Composite Index and Lehman Aggregate Bond Index saw a gain of 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained relatively unchanged.
Funds run by Appaloosa Investment LP,
Other hedge funds, like Bridgewaters Pure Alpha fund (which gained 3%) and David Einhorns Greenlight Capital (which rose 1.7%) managed to generate gains in March.
Despite a low first quarter, hedge fund indexes have still outperformed equity markets.