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2005 Hedge Fund Returns Dominate Traditional Market Indices


WEBWIRE

For Immediate Release

Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund Index Gains +1.4% In December

Greenwich, CT, USA, January 9, 2006 The Greenwich-Van Global Hedge Fund Index (“the Index”) gained 1.4% in December according to a preliminary report released today by Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC, a leading hedge fund index provider. For the year, the Index is estimated at 8.3%, well ahead of the traditional market indices.
In comparison, on a year-to-date basis the S&P 500 returned 4.9%, the NASDAQ increased 1.4%, the Dow Jones Europe Stoxx Index gained 4.7% and the Morgan Stanley Capital International World Equity Index (“MSCI WEI”) returned 7.6%. The Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index (“LBABI”) rose 2.5%.
“Destructive hurricanes, unsurpassed oil prices and continued short-term Fed rate tightening seem to have weighed heavily on the minds of many investors as 2005 progressed. However, hedge funds in aggregate delivered the absolute return they target,” notes Wade McKnight, Vice President of Greenwich-Van. Emerging market managers, profiting from markets in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America, led the pack with a preliminary return of 16.2%. The second strongest hedge fund strategy in 2005, with a preliminary return of 14.3%, was the Opportunistic long/short equity strategy group. Rather than consistently selecting securities according to a particular investment style, the opportunistic manager’s investment approach changes over time to take better advantage of changing market conditions. Convertible Arbitrage, on the other hand, was one of the worst performing strategies based on preliminary results.

The Index represents the average performance, net of fees, of hedge fund managers that report to Greenwich-Van. It has shown a gain over each of the last 17 calendar years, underscoring hedge funds’ reputation as absolute return vehicles. Since its inception through last month, the Index has produced a compound annualized return of 15.5% net. Historical performance of the Index may be viewed at www.vanhedge.com.

An updated December return for the Index, based on a larger sample of funds, will be released in mid-January; final results will be available at the end of January. Additional Greenwich-Van Indices, which show average December hedge fund performance for individual investment strategies and broad strategy groups, will also be available at mid-month and month-end.

Greenwich-Van Advisors, LLC (“VAN”) is a hedge fund index provider that constructs hedge fund indices based on performance information received from hedge funds domiciled in the U.S. and offshore. One of the industry’s largest proprietary databases, which contain detailed information on over 7,100 funds, is used in the construction of the Index.

The Company’s hedge fund index information is based on a compilation of information received (and not audited or independently verified) from the hedge funds in Greenwich-Van’s database and may not be representative of all hedge funds. Hedge fund returns are net of fees and performance allocations. The timing of the deduction of such fees and performance allocations may affect the reported performance. Different statistics may be based on different numbers of funds. Averages are equal-weighted. Past results are not indicative of future performance. All historical Index returns and values have been restated to exclude funds of funds. MSCI World Equity Index and Dow Jones Europe Stoxx 50 returns are U.S. dollar denominated. Please see www.vanhedge.com/pdf/vanindex.pdf for additional explanatory notes about the Greenwich-Van Hedge Fund Indices.



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