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Global financial markets gained in April driven by surging commodity prices, positive corporate earnings and continued progress on vaccination administration in the US, as well as continued strong employment and housing data. Equity markets gained across most sectors led by Technology; Energy, commodity-linked and Financial sectors all posted strong gains. US interest rates posted a narrow decline as the US dollar fell against most currencies, including Euro, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen and Brazilian Real. Commodities surged on steadily increasing expectations for inflation, with sharp increases across Oil, Natural Gas, Copper, Aluminum, Corn, Wheat & Lumber. Hedge Funds and Risk Premia indices posted gains with the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index gaining +1.63% and the HFRX Market Directional Index gaining +3.69% for April.
HFRX Equity Hedge Index gained +2.99% for April, from gains in Fundamental Growth and Value strategies. The HFRX Fundamental Growth Index posted a gain of +4.52% from gains across geographic exposures, with concentration in Emerging Markets and mid-cap US equities. The HFRX Fundamental Value Index gained +2.39% from gains in exposure to large-cap US & European equities. The HFRX Market Neutral Index gained +0.56% for the month from gains in mean reverting, factor-based strategies and fundamental managers.
HFRX Event Driven Index posted a gain of +1.56% for April, from gains in Merger Arbitrage managers and Special Situations equity strategies. The HFRX Merger Arbitrage Index gained +1.76% as activity in global M&A deals increased during the period. The HFRX Special Situations Index posted a gain of +1.55% from gains in exposure to Global and Asian catalyst-driven, fundamental value equities.
HFRX Macro/CTA Index posted a gain of +1.10% for April, from gains in Systematic trend-following managers and Global Discretionary strategies. Macro Discretionary managers posted gains from exposure to opportunistic Fixed-Income and global multi-asset strategies. The HFRX Macro Systematic/CTA Index posted a gain of +1.24% as the US Dollar declined against most major currencies and commodities posted gains across Energy, Metals and Agriculturals.
HFRX Relative Value Arbitrage Index gained +0.46% for April from gains in Convertible Arbitrage and Multi-Strategy managers. The HFRX Convertible Arbitrage Index gained +0.84% as US interest rates declined and volatility remained subdued during the period. The HFRX RV: Multi-Strategy Index posted a gain of +0.42% for the month as US yields declined while European yields increased during the month.
Comments reference performance figures as of April 30, 2021