hedge fund analysis - Ops 101

The January 2012 performance of the HFRX Monthly Indices has been published at www.hfrx.com

ASIAN HEDGE FUNDS TOP EQUITY MARKETS AGAIN IN 2011. Strategy evolution, risk management integral to 2nd consecutive year of outperformance; China overtakes US as top location for Asian-focused hedge funds in 2011. CHICAGO (February 7, 2012) - Asian hedge funds outperformed volatile regional equity markets in 2011, marking the second consecutive year of such outperformance, according to data released today by HFR (Hedge Fund Research, Inc.), the leading provider of data, indices and analysis of the global hedge fund industry. In a year marked by a difficult cycle of navigating steep equity market declines in Japan and Emerging Asia, the benchmark HFRX Asia with Japan Index posted a narrow gain of +0.4 percent in 4Q11 to end 2011 with a decline of -5.2 percent, mirroring the performance of the broad-based HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index and topping the Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite Index by 1,200 and nearly 1,700 basis points (bps), respectively. The recently launched HFRX Korea Index posted a gain of +4.8 percent for 4Q11 and, despite declining -7.5 percent for the full calendar year, also topped the benchmark Kospi Index by nearly 350 bps for 2011.

Hedge funds opened 2012 by posting broad-based gains in January, with the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index gaining +2.63 percent, the second highest monthly performance figure since December 2010, according to data released today by HFR.