More than 82 per cent of survey participants expressed satisfaction with how their portfolios performed during the eventful first half of 2020, when global stock markets plummeted as the coronavirus outbreak worsened. 17 per cent said they were “very dissatisfied” and 31 per cent were “dissatisfied” with hedge funds’ performance. On the flipside, 35 per cent are “satisfied”, and 8 per cent “very satisfied”. The remaining 8 per cent do not yet know how they feel about this year’s hedge fund performance.
North American investors expressed the most satisfaction with hedge funds, with 40 per cent “quite satisfied”, compared to 30 per cent of “quite satisfied” European hedge fund investors. Almost as many North American investors were “quite unsatisfied” with hedge funds, though at 38 per cent. Only 24 per cent of European investors were “quite unsatisfied” with their hedge funds’ performance.
53 per cent of investors in active emerging market debt strategies are dissatisfied with performance. Close to two-thirds (64 per cent) of alternative risk premia investors are also unhappy with H1 returns. In contrast, 52 per cent of real estate investors are pleased with performance this year; 61 per cent of private equity investors were satisfied with H1 performance, and 71 per cent of private credit allocators expressed satisfaction. The report found that, overall, only 24 per cent plan to change strategic asset allocations this year, while 35 per cent are altering their risk management processes. Among the other key findings: close to a third of investors have already invested in distressed or opportunistic strategies that seek to benefit from the Covid-19, while a further 22 per cent who have not yet done so are interested in pursuing such opportunities in the coming months.