Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Female-run hedge funds returned 9.6% on average in 2017, marginally beating the 8.7% average return generated by entire hedge fund industry. Despite women-run hedge funds having lagged the industry in the last months of the year, historical figures show women are equally as good as men at investing, if not better.

The HFRI Women Index, which tracks the performance of hedge funds run by female managers, generated a cumulative return of 54.0% over the last 10 years, which equates to an annualized rate of return of 4.4%. This performance compares favourably with the cumulative return of 37.4% generated by hedge funds across all strategies and genders, as measured by the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index. The 10-year return of 37.4% equates to a 3.2% annualized rate of return.

Women are greatly under-represented in the hedge fund industry, as only 47 funds make up the HFRI Women Index. In comparison, approximately 2,000 funds are included in HFR’s industry-wide index. The combined assets under management of the 47 funds account for less than 1% of the assets managed by the entire hedge fund industry.

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