Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – After two consecutive months of negative performance, Nordic fixed-income hedge funds returned 0.9 percent on average in July (96 percent reported). This was the largest monthly gain for the group since early 2017. Following the July performance, the NHX Fixed Income Index reached an index value of 206.49, a new all-time high for the NHX sub-category. The index is up 1.1 percent year-to-date through the end of July.

Nordic fixed-income hedge funds appear to be moving in lockstep with their global peers in 2018, and the month of July was no exception. The Eurokahedge Fixed Income Hedge Fund Index, an equally-weighted index comprised of 347 fixed-income hedge funds, gained 0.8 percent in July. The Eurokahedge index gained 1.2 percent in the first seven months of 2018. The HFN Fixed Income Index (non-arbitrage), which tracks the performance of fixed-income funds in the eVestment hedge fund database, was up 0.4 percent last month, which brought the year-to-date performance to a similar 1.2 percent.

Four out of every five members of the NHX Fixed Income Index delivered positive performance last month, with an especially impressive showing by Nykredit EVIRA Hedge Fund, gaining 7.3 percent last month. The fund, which seeks to exploit interest rate spreads between corporate bonds and interest rate hedging instruments, is down 4.6 percent year-to-date through July.

Asgard Credit Fund, based on the strategy employed by Asgard Fixed Income Fund, gained 3.7 percent last month, bringing the year-to-date performance back into positive territory at 0.2 percent. Danske Invest Fixed Income Macro Hedge, an absolute return fixed-income fund launched in the summer of this year, rose 2.4 percent in July.

July’s worst performers in the NHX Fixed Income Index can hardly be called poor performers, as Catella Nordic Corporate Bond Flex and Nykredit MIRA Hedge Fund merely fell 0.2 percent last month.

Picture: (c) Bruce-Rolff—shutterstock.com