The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index advanced 1.9 per cent in October and is up 6.6 per cent year-to-date.

The S&P 500 advanced 3.7 per cent (+6.1 per cent YTD), the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 3.1 per cent (+6.6 per cent YTD), and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 5.9 per cent (+10.5 per cent YTD). 

Bonds also advanced, as the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index increased 0.4 per cent (+8.3 per cent YTD).

“The financial markets continued to rally as the companies reported solid earnings and the Fed announced an additional round of quantitative easing. Hedge funds posted strong positive performance, but lagged traditional benchmarks due to conservative exposure levels and losses from hedges,” says Charles Gradante, co-founder of Hennessee Group. “Arbitrage, event driven and credit strategies continue to drive gains, outperforming long/short equity strategies for the month and year-to-date.”