Lyxor: Hedge Funds Up 0.62% In March, 2.36% In Q1

Hedge funds rose 0.62% last month, according to the Lyxor Hedge Fund Index.

The benchmark is up 2.36% on the year, far behind the broader markets: The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is up more than 10% in 2013.

Special situations funds did best in March, rising 2.09%. Equity long-bias funds returned an average of 1.41%, merger arbitrage funds 1.14%, long-term commodity trading advisers 1.02%, and convertible arbitrage and distressed funds 0.99% each.

Statistical arbitrage funds added 0.82% last month, equity variable bias 0.4% and market neutral 0.36%.

Credit arbitrage funds fell 0.51% in March. Global macro funds lost an average of 0.14%.

All told, 10 of the 14 strategies tracked by Lyxor Asset Management gained ground on the month.

"Despite the European political and economic turbulences in March, hedge fund managers continue to focus on the encouraging macro news flow generated in the US and the upward trend in risky assets is not expected to end soon," Lyxor AM's head of managed account platform research and external relations Stefan Keller said.