eVestment’s September and Q3 2014 Hedge Fund Asset Flows Report identifies a variety of outflow trends in the industry and among specific strategies that, while small, may be a harbinger of things to come given the recent tumult in world financial markets. These trends, according to report author and eVestment Vice President of Research Peter Laurelli, include:
- Hedge funds experienced outflows in September for the first month since December 2013. Performance losses caused the industry’s first quarterly asset reduction in Q3 since Q2 2012.
- Redemptions in September were likely the result of losses in July. The impact of September’s losses may become evident in the next two to three months.
- The most noticeable deviation from recent trends in September came in the form of investor redemptions from equity-focused strategies. The universe last experienced outflows in June 2013.
- Event driven funds, which have seen elevated inflows in 2014, did not experience aggregate outflows in September, however inflows were relatively minor. Flows for activist strategies were positive, but negligible.
- Outflows were again elevated for macro and managed futures funds in September. The two accounted for the majority of investor outflows in September and all outflows in Q3, at the aggregated strategy level. The story appears different between the two, however, as there appears to be performance-driven factors influencing macro funds and structural issues influencing managed futures fund flows.