(Reuters) - Hedge funds have sharply cut back on bets and are less willing to make punts on market moves after a tough June in which turbulence over Greece's debt crisis left managers nursing further losses.
Hedge funds found few bets -- calling market direction or trying to buy cheap stocks and go short on expensive ones -- worked in a month dominated by worries over Greece's attempts to push through austerity measures needed to secure a bailout.
"It's not been a good month," said one prime broker who asked not to be named. "Some strategies that were a bit crowded -- long commodities, long gold, short dollar -- didn't perform well."
Hedge funds lost 1.6 percent in June, according to Hedge Fund Research's HFRX index, lagging the FTSE 100's 0.7 percent fall.
After losses of 1.2 percent in May, according to the broader HFRI index, it takes losses this year to 2.1 percent, with big names such as Paulson and Moore Capital in negative territory.
Funds lost out across the board. London-based Harmonic Capital, which runs $820 million (513 million pounds) in assets, saw its flagship global macro fund fall 6.65 percent in June, while Atlantic Investment's long-only Cambrian hedge fund, which focuses on mid-cap U.S. industrials, lost 4.9 percent.
Publicity-shy Lansdowne Partners' flagship $8.6 billion UK hedge fund slid 0.75 percent, while its long-only UK Strategic Investment fund lost 4.1 percent, as did Henderson's UK Equity Long Short fund, according to Lipper.
Continue reading this article
