Hedge fund indexes mark gains

Despite high-profile stories of hedge fund collapses in the last few weeks, two indexes marked overall gains for the industry. The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index gained 0.33% in July and is up 8.96% on the year. The index, which is compiled monthly by Hennessee Group LLC, a New York-based hedge fund consulting company, beat out the Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite indexes, which fell 3.2%, 1.47% and 2.19%, respectively. The Lehman Intermediate Government/ Corporate Bond Index advanced 0.95%. The Hennessee Long/Short Equity Index, Arbitrage/Event Driven Index fell 0.12% and 0.13%, respectively for the month. Meanwhile, the Hennessee Global/Macro Index advanced 1.77% last month and is up 12.09% on the year. The MSCI Hedge Invest Index gained 0.01% and is up 4.67% year-to-date. MSCI's Event Driven Index posted a 1.56% gain on the month, while its Systematic Trading Index is off 1.21% during the same period. The results were released one day after Chicago-based Hedge Fund Research Inc.'s Fund Weighted Composite Index increased 0.49% in July and is up 7.99% year-to-date (InvestmentNews, Aug. 7) .