Hedge funds stay ahead of the pack

Hedge funds have beaten out the major indicators in the month of June. Hedge Fund Research Inc.'s Weighted Composite Index gained 1.11% in June, pushing the index up 7.97% year-to-date. Meanwhile, Hennessee Group LLC's Hedge Fund Index rose 0.88% in June and is up 8.71% year-to-date. Both indexes beat out the Standard & Poor's 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite, which declined 1.78%, 1.61% and 0.05% during the month, respectively. HFR's emerging markets, short-selling and technology strategies had the strongest month, increasing 2.96%, 2.03% and 2.01%, respectively. "Emerging markets did particularly well in Eastern Europe," said Ken Heinz, president of Chicago-based HFR. "That was the best performing geographic area." HFR's real estate and health care/biotech fund categories fell 2.90% and 1.51%, respectively. Meanwhile, New York-based Hennessee's distressed debt and Merger Arbitrage indexes fell 0.32% and 0.2% respectively.