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The number contrasts with the heady days of 2014
when investors added $31.6 billion of new money in January and
February, research firms BarclayHedge and TrimTabs Investment
Research said.
Hedge funds have long been popular choices with big-name
investors like pension funds and endowments, but last year's
roughly 3.3 percent return, which lagged the Standard & Poor's
12 percent climb, plus giant pension fund Calpers' decision to
exit all hedge funds has prompted some investors to rethink,
industry analysts have said.
Longer-term data shows the slowdown in demand even more starkly,
said Sol Waksman, president and founder of BarclayHedge. "In the
past 12 months, hedge funds added $39.2 billion, down 57 percent
from $91.4 billion in the previous 12-month span," he said.
In February, the data shows a slight improvement with hedge
funds taking in $7.2 billion in new money, marking the strongest
inflows in the past six months. But the rebound was eclipsed by
January's $11.2 billion in outflows, the researchers said.
Some of the flows may have been linked to improved returns with
the average hedge fund earning a 2.2 percent gain in February,
the best returns in two years. But the broader stock market
fared even better with the S&P 500 gaining 5.5 percent.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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