Hedge Fund Returns in February

Hedge funds gain in February(Reuters)
The average hedge fund returned 1.39 percent last month, according to the Hennessee Group while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index advanced 3.2 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 2.81 percent. Rival research group Hedge Fund Research said the average hedge fund gained 1.21 percent during the month. In the first two months of 2011, hedge funds climbed 2.08 percent, lagging the Standard & Poor’s 5.53 percent rise. In January, the average hedge fund inched up 0.65 percent. … John Paulson, who earned $5 billion last year, saw his gold fund gain 13.24 percent in February after a disappointing start to the year with a 12 percent loss in January. Paulson’s Advantage Fund gained 2.32 percent, a person familiar with the fund but not authorized to speak about it publicly said.

Paulson, Appaloosa, RenTech Up In Feb. (FinAlternatives)
John Paulson’s flagship Advantage fund was up 1.62% (1.87% year-to-date) and its Advantage Plus fund was up 2.25% (2.79% YTD). Paulson’s Recovery fund, which bets on an economic rebound, added 3.53% in February (4.46% YTD), while Paulson Partners rose 1.64% (4.01% YTD). Even better is Appaloosa Management, which has had anything but the mixed year that Paulson has had. The New Jersey firm’s eponymous fund is up almost 10%, while its Thoroughbred fund is up almost 8%, through February, II reports. Renaissance Technologies has been a good deal more middling. The Long Island quantitative giant’s Institutional Futures Fund rose 3.16% last month and is up 3.86% on the year, according to Dealbreaker.com. Finally, the bad and the ugly, which is really not all that bad and not terribly ugly. Ping Capital Management, headed by former SAC Capital Advisors star trader Ping Jiang, finally hit a roadbump in February, dropping 0.59%. Still, the fund is up 6.69% this year, following returns of 105% last year and 193% in 2009.

Global Hedge Fund Assets May Hit Record $2.25 Trillion, Deutsche Bank Says (Bloomberg)
Global hedge fund assets may reach a record $2.25 trillion by year-end on increasing capital inflows and performance gains, according to a Deutsche Bank AG annual investor survey. Capital inflows may quadruple to $210 billion this year from 2010, leading to a 10 percent expansion in assets, the survey released today showed. Assets rebounded to $1.917 trillion at the end of last year, closing in on the peak of $1.93 trillion in the second quarter of 2008, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. data.