Friday, December 16, 2011

eVestment | HFN focus strategy report: financial sector

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Overview: financial sector hedge funds

EVestment |HFN active and inactive databases, performance and information on assets of 89 unique funds investing primarily in the financial services sector. There are an additional 35 funds investing in multiple industries and has explicitly taken note of the exposure of the economy.

The classification is much equity oriented and includes exposure to different subsectors including large and small banks and financial services to businesses, thrifts, insurance, and specialty finance firms. Strategies are primarily long/short, but the event driven, focusing on consolidation is a common theme.

The Angel in a relatively poor performing market, the Group has produced returns and volatility statistics are similar to the broad hedge fund industry in both 2011 and LTM.
• The Group has substantially performed financial sector benchmarks 2011 both in terms of performance (900 + points) and volatility (almost half the standard deviation of monthly).
• Investor sentiment towards financial sector funds has been better than most other sector specific equity funds in 2011, but still far below average in the industry.

The financial sector has become one of the most volatile capital market sectors during the last 12 months. The threat of a large-scale sovereign crisis in Europe together with increased regulation have done in and invest in the sector a challenge. The rest of the report takes a closer look at asset flow and performance trends in the classification to determine sources of benchmark outperformance and measure investor sentiment.

Total asset levels and investors flow trends
eVestment |HFN tracks AUM and publishing time estimates for funds investing primarily in the financial sector. Global hedge fund exposure to the sector can be significantly larger, but tracking impressions of sectors means is not possible at this time.

• Total AUM in funds investing primarily in the financial sector was 15.81 billion dollars at the end of October 2011, a decrease of 2.05 billion dollars or 6.21% through 10 months of the year.
• Investor's redemption net 610 million dollars from the group in 2011 to a core decline 3.59%. This compares with a growth rate of 2.21% for hedge funds industry 2011 core.
• Performance has reduced the financial sector fund AUM estimated 440 million dollars to October; an asset-weighted return of approximately 2.91% compared to-1.63% for hedge funds.
• "Investors have been net redeemers of assets from the financial sector funds in 9 of the last 12 months, but it was the jump in distributions in September.

Despite the above average and sustained total payments from the financial sector hedge funds, have been pockets of investors ' interest in 2011 and has mostly for those funds that performed in 2010. Average net total 2011 for funds returns exceed the Fund's average financial sector 2010 was 7.05 million dollars. Average 2011 flow for those crisis management 2010 was a net redemption 14.27 million dollars.

However, no Fund really doing in 2010 and have a meaningful input 2011 is posting positive returns the current year or returns greater than the average for the group in 2011. A potential positive for AUM will emerge is that there are no large funds have experienced net outflows so far, but also performs very well. It is probably these funds that will attract investments by 2011.

Regional performance trends
Table 5 compares the percentile ranks financial sector funds over the past 12 months based on their declared regional investment aid focus.

• The European sovereign crisis has seriously affected the relative performance of funds investing in the region's financial sector. Proceeds from the Group Global economy also shows high exposure to the European economy.
• The U.S. economy has not only performed the Confederal Group of the European economy by almost 400 bps 2011, they have also performed all focused hedge equity funds and the sum of the hedge fund industry YTD.
The Angel good relative performance, fewer than one-third of U.S. focused financial sector funds are positive in 2011. Those are large, up an average of + about 12%. The task is that the minority has made the right call in the group in 2011 and they have been rewarded.

Financial sector focused Sub Strategies
Figure 9 shows the performance of economy focused medium with stylistic systematic and their relevant broader hedge fund peer groups.

• Financials sector funds invest based on a fusion/event driven, dramatic crisis management their peers during a prolonged period.
• Clean and broad capital market movements has been much affected by macro events overwhelming micro factors, wider event driven and fusion/risk arbitrage has performed long/short equity strategies suggest idiosyncratic factors are blamed for the poor performance of event driven/fusion financial resources.
• Small/Mid CAP funds have performed well compared with the broader financial sector funds. The Group posted better results than long/short equity funds, but crisis management towards sector size independent small/micro cap over a longer time perspective.
• Both biased style groups showed significantly higher volatility compared to the broad economy focused sector funds, but was well below the NYSE financial indices and the S & P 500 TR.

Performance comparison of equity sector
Funds investing in financial records was in the middle of the pack in comparison with other sector specific equity strategies, LTM.

• Perhaps surprisingly, financial sector funds showed the lowest volatility of the preceding 24 months in relation to other sector specific equity funds (based on the annualized standard deviation); natural resources sector topped the list.
• Sector specific equity funds continue to show high strategy correlations, varies between 0.76 (financial resources) to 0.87 (financial to property) since Jan-2009.
• Healthcare focused funds, generally regarded as a defensive sector, has performed all other equity sector groups on the basis of the current year.

Forward
Economy has received much attention since the financial crisis both in terms of the role played and how some companies have performed in a unique environment then. European sovereign debt crisis continues to loom over large parts of the industry and MF Global bankruptcy was reminscent of the risks for 2008. The sector has, however, sufficient diversity both by market cap and industry subsector for managers to efficiently outperform benchmarks. In addition, the sector remains volatile and trading at levels seen in mid-2009, managers can see the possibilities. Downside risks, however, may be close to all time highs as effective assurance is absolutely key.

Although overall performance has shown controlled downside volatility for the group, will many individual economy oriented funds have to show greater resistance to beta-driven losses to stem outflows in the near future. In the intermediate term, secular changes in performance drivers for many funds come from the eurozone crisis, particularly the recapitalization of banks. These events will give the macro backdrop against which subsectors and company specific microeconomic events will challenge. Investors in space should be aware of any funding expectations and plans for management of these factors.

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