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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Hedge funds returned an average of +1.27% in February, according to the just-released eVestment February 2019 hedge fund return data. The positive month brings year-to-date (YTD) performance to +4.55%.

The first two months of 2019 offered up the industry's best returns to start a year since 2012, when average returns were at +5.78% through February of that year.

The big winners for the month were China-focused hedge funds, returning an average of +7.17% in February, bringing YTD 2019 returns to +14.17%. The biggest losers for the month were Brazil-focused funds, returning an average of -3.08% in February. YTD returns for Brazil-focused funds are still in the green, however, at +5.03%.

Activist funds have also participated significantly in the Q1 rally, posting strong gains in February of +4.18% bringing year-to-date returns to +8.81%. Long/short equity funds are rebounding as well, up 1.99% in February and 7.63% YTD.

Market Neutral Equity funds were the only primary strategy to produce aggregate negative returns in an otherwise positive equity market environment. Only 43% of market neutral managers were able to produce gains during the month, causing average returns to come in at -0.39% in February.

Macro hedge fund returns also lagged in February, returns were just barely positive at 0.13%. YTD returns for the cohort are up 1.01%. Size was not an advantage for Macro funds in February, the 10 largest Macro funds r......................

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