HFR: Hedge funds fell 1.4% in November

Hedge fund returns fell November, reflecting declines in the major stock markets, the credit crunch and concerns about business slowdowns, according to recent data from Hedge Fund Research Inc. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index decreased by 1.4%, hurt by declines in the emerging markets, event-driven, market timing and other categories. Despite the decline, the index is still up 10.24% year-to-date through the end of November. The decline in the emerging markets categories was led by the Latin America and Asia Indexes, which fell 3.49% and 3.41%, respectively. The event-driven and market timing strategies fell 2.2% and 2.8%, respectively. The technology and energy indexes were the sectors with the largest declines, falling 3.97% and 2.15%, respectively. On a positive note, the short selling index produced a 6.52% return. Meanwhile, the mortgage-backed and arbitrage sectors produced returns of 1.37% and 1.27%, respectively.