The Greenwich Global Hedge Fund Index returned 2.21% in February, rebounding from January’s decline of -2.79%, which was the worst return since 2002.

Last month the S&P 500 and MSCI World Equity posted negative returns of -3.32% and -0.74%, respectively, while the FTSE 100 gained +0.08%. All hedge fund strategy groups ended the month with gains.

“February’s rebound in the midst of market uncertainty continues to highlight the diversification benefits of hedge funds,” said Margaret Gilbert, managing director at Greenwich.

The Directional Trading Group’s 5.48% return was the strongest, driven largely by futures managers who capitalized on volatile commodities markets posting a February gain of 7.2%.

The Long/Short Equity Group strategies also benefited from choppy equity markets, gaining 1.28%. For the second month in a row, dedicated short sellers were the top performers in this group, gaining 4.12% on the month.

The Specialty Strategy Group returned 2.74% on average, lead by emerging markets which rebounded 4.4% after its January decline.

The Market Neutral Group was the weakest but still managed to show an average return of 1.11%

February’s GGHFI currently includes 1091 constituent funds.

Meanwhile, the Greenwich Composite Investable Hedge Fund Index was also up, returning 1.05% for the February trading period.