Hedge Fund Database Reviews

Review of the Best Hedge Fund Directories -2009

Have you been looking for a quality hedge fund directory or hedge fund database, but not sure what you get for the money? If you are like many of our readers, apparently the answer is yes. There are at least a dozen providers of hedge fund information. Many supply an online database, while others allow users to download the information for use with Excel or other spreadsheet programs. Three of the four hedge fund databases below provide performance information designed for investors and are only available to qualified investors.

Also note that while each hedge fund database/directory claims to cover a different number of funds, for the most part they have similar coverage. Much of the difference in “number of hedge funds” stems from the number of repeat listings.

Best Hedge Fund Directories:

1. BarclayHedge (Overall Winner!)

Price: $4,500

• The BarclayHedge Hedge Fund Database Barclay’s contains comprehensive information on more than 4,000 Hedge Funds and Funds of Hedge Funds. Barclay’s database is probably the best known and most respected hedge fund directory available. Constantly updated, their database is the go to source for hedge fund and fund of fund quantitative information. Barclay’s also sells a purely Fund of Funds directory which is available for $1,200.

• Despite the sometimes prohibitive price, Barclay’s Hedge Fund Database remains the most valulable single tool for investors and serious researchers needing up-to-date performance information. For an additional $4,500, users can get access to the unbeatable Barclay’s Contact Marketing Database which provides contact information for hedge funds, fund of funds and CTA managers.

2. HedgeFundContacts (Best Value!)

Price: $137 + $240 for downloads

• At less than $400 including downloads (or $137 for fully searchable online database), HedgeFundContacts.com is the clear winner in the Best Value , Hedge Fund Database category. Their online database is easy to use and offers more search options than many more expensive competitors. In addition to several thousand hedge funds, they also provide updated contact info on fund of hedge funds, and private equity firms. They just added People Search, a very cool and unique feature, which gives users access to a database (including email addresses) of more than 8,000 hedge fund professionals including a surprising number of CEOs and Managing Directors.
  

• Amazingly, their contact Database rivals that of the much more expensive BarclayHedge and is a much more affordable option for job hunters, marketers, and other research. Because HedgeFundContacts is a contact database they not supply performance information. The upside is they provide better contact information and more valid email addresses than virtually any other competitor and their database is available to non-qualified investors.

3. HedgeCo

Price: $2,500 + $2,500 for downloads

• HedgeCo provides a searchable online database as well as the ability to download the results to Excel. Includes quantitative and qualitative data on single manager hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, CTAs, and a variety of other alternative investment products. The database is of good quality, though with a number of repeat listings. However, at $5000 with downloads, the HedgeCo database is priced at the upper end of the elite hedge fund directories and is only available to qualified investors.

4. Eurekahedge

Price: $3,500

• The Eurekahedge North American Hedge Fund Database provides online access to a database of 2,675 hedge funds throughout North America. Subscribers also get a hard copy version of the database and free monthly online newsletters. While a valuable tool, the database does not appear to be updated as often as others. Eurekahedge also makes available their Global Hedge Fund Database which is available for $12,000 and a Fund of Funds database for $3,000.

Of course, there are many other hedge fund directories available. However after reviewing dozens of competitors, we selected the four above because of the high quality of their listings, frequent updates, and ease of use. Job hunters, recruiters, and those wishing to market to hedge funds will get the best value from wildly under-priced HedgeFundContacts.com. For investors, pension fund managers, and research institutions, we suggest the overall winner of our Hedge Fund Database Review, the BarclayHedge database.

Hennessee Hedge Fund Index down 5.52% for October

The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index was down 5.5% in October, less than other hedge fund indeces had predicted. The Barclay Hedge Fund Index, which tracks a slightly different basket, was earlier looking for a 6% + decline in October.

The 5.5% drop in October, was actually a slowing in the pace of declines. The Heennessee Hedge Fund Index was down more than 6.2% in September and is now down more than 15% ytd.

Ironically, the biggest declines were in hedge fund strategies that are typically viewed as being more market neutral such as convertible arbitrage (though this strategy can be highly correlated if managers are net long convertibles) which lost more than 10% in October. The smallest declines came from merger arbitrage (down less than 1%) and the international index (down 4%). The long-short index was down more than 5% for the second straight month, again bringing into question why long-short hedge fund managers have returns that are so highly correlated with long only portfolios.

Best and Worst Months for Hedge Fund Returns

December is the best month for hedge fund performance since 1997. Between 1997 and 2008, the Barclay Hedge Fund Index averaged 2.14% in December compared with a .95% average monthly gain over the time period. The worst month for hedge fund returns was August, with an average return of -.14%, the only month with a negative return.

The best season for hedge fund returns has been the fall, averaging 4.64%. The worst season for hedge fund returns has been the summer, averaging only .84%.

Average Hedge Fund Returns by Season/Quarter 1997-2008
Winter (Q1) Spring(Q2) Summer (Q3) Fall (Q4)
3.16% 2.89% .84% 21.4%

Average Monthly Hedge Fund Returns 1997-2008
J F M A M J J A S O N D

1.2%

1.2%

0.7%

1.1%

0.8%

1.0%

0.3%

-0.1%

0.7%

0.9%

1.4%

2.1%