Hedgers enter positive territory

Hedge funds appear to be moving back into positive territory after wrapping up one of the industry’s worst years on record. According to preliminary data from Hedge Fund Research Inc. in Chicago, the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index had gained slightly more than 1% from the start of the year through Tuesday. This compares with a 7% decline by the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index over the same period. The best-performing hedge fund category so far this year, according to HFR, was convertible arbitrage, which had gained 5.8% through Tuesday. Equity hedge and distressed securities — the worst-performing subcategories —each had fallen less than 1% during the period. The official January performance data will be released at noon tomorrow and will be based on the HFRI monthly index, which is equal-weighted and more comprehensive than the HFRX index. The HFRX index, for example, includes data from 55 hedge funds, most of which report daily performance. The HFRI index calculates the performance of more than 2,000 hedge funds on a monthly basis. The HFRI index was down 18.6% in 2008, compared with a 37.5% decline by the S&P 500.