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29 Jul 2009

Halfway There: New Hedge Fund Research From Credit Suisse/Tremont

Credit Suisse Tremont Index LLC released a new research piece, 1H 2009 Hedge Fund Update: Halfway There, a review of how hedge funds have repositioned themselves in the first half of 2009 to generate positive returns for five out of the first six months of the year.

The report discusses how hedge funds have generated year-to-date returns of 7.2% through June 30, outperforming, with lower volatility, both key equity and bond indices. Some key takeaways from the report include:

* The Convertible Arbitrage, Emerging Markets, and Global Macro sectors have received increased attention as investors began to regain their appetite for risk and global markets rallied.

* Performance has improved across most sectors, with the bulk of returns for many strategies moving into positive territory for the year, with 80% of all funds reporting positive returns for the second quarter.

* Overall industry assets under management have dropped approximately $18 billion since the end of the first quarter of 2009; we estimate industry assets totaled $1.3 trillion as of June 30 - down from $1.5 trillion at the end of 2008.

* As of June 30, 2009, an estimated 9.6% of funds were classified as impaired, meaning they have either suspended redemptions, imposed gate provisions or sidepocketed assets.

Credit Suisse is comprised of a number of legal entities around the world and is headquartered in Zurich. The registered shares of Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares, in New York.