Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Nordic hedge funds were down 0.8 percent on average in April (90 percent reported), dragging the year-to-date performance further into negative territory at 3.7 percent. There were bright spots among individual managers and broader strategy groups, with CTAs advancing close to 3.0 percent on average and funds of hedge funds gaining about 1.0 percent as a group.
Two of the five strategy categories within the Nordic Hedge Index posted gains in April, with CTAs leading the gains. After achieving one of their best months over the past decade in March, Nordic CTAs enjoyed another positive month in April with an average gain of 3.0 percent to extend their year-to-date advance to 5.9 percent. Funds of hedge funds, meanwhile, advanced 1.0 percent on average last month to take the group’s 2022 performance into positive territory at 0.9 percent. Equity-focused hedge funds extended their 2022 decline to 4.8 percent after booking an average loss of 1.0 percent in April. Fixed-income managers ended the month of April down 1.2 percent to bring the decline for the first four months of 2022 to 5.2 percent. Multi-strategy funds were down 1.6 percent on average last month to end the first four months of the year down 3.5 percent.
At a country level, Norwegian hedge funds edged up 0.2 percent in April to bring their year-to-date performance in positive territory at 0.1 percent. Swedish hedge funds, which account for the largest portion of the Nordic hedge fund industry, edged down 0.3 percent in April to extend their 2022 decline to 2.0 percent. Finnish hedge funds were down 1.2 percent on average in April, taking their 2022 performance further into negative territory at 5.3 percent. The Danish hedge fund industry, dominated by fixed-income strategies, fell by 2.2 percent last month to end the first four months of 2022 down 7.4 percent.
The performance dispersion between last month’s best- and worst-performing members of the Nordic Hedge Index increased month-over-month as losses were significantly higher in April compared to March. In April, the top 20 percent of Nordic hedge funds advanced 3.5 percent on average and the bottom 20 percent lost 6.1 percent, representing a top-to-bottom dispersion of 9.7 percent versus 8.4 percent in March (and 12.3 percent in February). In March, the top 20 percent were up 6.2 percent on average and the bottom 20 percent were down 2.3 percent. About two in every five members of the Nordic Hedge Index with reported April figures posted gains last month.
Top Performers in April
Pensum Global Opportunities, a recently-launched global long/short equity fund managed by Peter Andersland – a co-founder of Sector Asset Management – alongside Inger Anne Varmann Vikre and Ermanno Mattio, was last month’s best-performing member of the Nordic Hedge Index with an advance of 9.5 percent. The fund has gained 11.1 percent since launching at the beginning of the year.
After achieving its best month since 2008 in March with an advance of 10.6 percent, systematic trend-following vehicle Lynx (Sweden) gained an additional 8.5 percent in April. Lynx Asset Management’s vehicle currently ranks as the best-performing member of the Nordic Hedge Index with an advance of 27.9 percent in the first four months of 2022. Long/short equity fund Elementa, meanwhile, gained 7.3 percent in April to extend its year-to-date advance to 19.1 percent.
SEB’s quant-driven trend-follower, SEB Asset Allocation, followed suit with a monthly advance of 6.9 percent in April. The fund overseen by Otto Francke and Mikael Nilsson gained 13.5 percent in the first four months of the year. RPM Evolving CTA Fund, meanwhile, advanced 5.9 percent in April to take its 2022 performance to 25.6 percent.
The Month in Review for April 2022 can be downloaded below:
