Fund managers rebound in April after tough March

Date: Thursday, May 8, 2008
Author: Allistair Barr, Market Watch.com

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Hedge funds generated gains in April, rebounding from a tough March as equity markets climbed, according to reports released on Wednesday by firms that track performance in the $2 trillion industry.

Managers returned 1.64% on average last month, Hedge Fund Research reported. That left the firm's index of funds down 1.78% for the first four months of this year.

Another hedge fund index run by Hennessee Group gained 2.2% in April, leaving it down 1.8% so far this year.

Five of the six hedge fund strategies tracked by Dow Jones Indexes generated gains in April, while convertible arbitrage managers tracked by the firm lost 1.95% on average last month.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rallied 4.8% in April, leaving the equity benchmark down 5.7% so far in 2008. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 5.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.5%.

The Lehman Aggregate Bond Index fell 0.2% in April, leaving it up 2% this year.

In March, hedge funds tracked by Hennessee Group lost 1.9% on average in March. Turmoil in equity and credit markets reached fever pitch that month when Bear Stearns nearly collapsed and had to be bailed out by the Federal Reserve and J.P. Morgan Chase