Hedge Funds Lost $350 Billion in 2008, Report
Hedge Funds Lost $350 Billion in 2008, Report Says
January 13, 2009, 12:54 pm
Hedge funds lost $350 billion worldwide in 2008, the most on record, as the global financial crisis crippled returns and caused investors to pull money out, according to an industry report.
About 90 percent of the money was lost in the three months to the end of November, according to a preliminary report published Tuesday by the Singapore-based data provider Eurekahedge Pte, Bloomberg News reports.
Funds that invested in North America declined the most, posting a drop of $183 billion for the year, the report said.
The hedge-fund industry shrank by about a fifth to $1.5 trillion at the end of the year from a peak of $1.9 trillion, Eurekahedge said.
Hedge funds posted a 12.3 percent loss over the year, based on the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, which tracks more than 2,000 funds worldwide. That compares with a 13 percent gain in 2007.
A separate report by Hedge Fund Research, released last week, showed that the hedge fund industry over all dropped 18.3 percent in 2008 for its worst year since the Chicago-based research firm began keeping records in 1990.
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3 comments so far…
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/hedge-funds-lost-350-billion-in-2008-report-says/
1.
January 13th,
2009
1:30 pm
Be careful of those hedge funds who actually made money in 2008. In other words, those who have been “successful” on short selling. It’s time to say something on that topic.
First, the fact that they made money in 2008 means that hedge is not even a part of their game plan. What is it? You name it.
Second, short selling itself means they are heavy on leverage. Anyone dare to use more leverage in such a year as 2008 is more perilous than Bernard Madoff.
Last but not least, let no one say any more that these guys are Americans.
— Posted by think again
2.
January 13th,
2009
2:57 pm
This fallout will certainly continue
I am just curious why all the greed blinded the hedge fund managers who couldn’t use various dynamic or static hedging to protect 100% of capital regardless of where the funds went
Yuri Rutman
http://section181.blogspot.com/
http://www.noci.com
— Posted by Yuri Rutman
3.
January 13th,
2009
7:18 pm
UBS, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch lost nearly $150 billion and were recused by their government or another institution. There are still more losses to be counted.
Hedge funds didn’t create the systemic meltdown of the financial system like the banks like Bear, Lehman, Merrill, Citi and UBS. Hedge funds only created losses for those investors foolish enough to pay out 2/20 for a false sense invincibility. At the end of the day, the large fees charged and the surviorship bias of information on purported returns created a large hoax that many of these ordinary money managers had supernatural powers. it was bound to happen as the market got bigger, cheap money disappeared and the upward market momentum stopped.
— Posted by hammer