STAR traders Crispin Odey and Pierre Lagrange led a recovery for the beleaguered hedge fund industry in January as European bank stocks soared 10 per cent.
The Odey European fund, which fell 20 per cent in 2011, is up 14 per cent so far this year after taking a bullish stance on banks and the media as well as individual stocks such as Pendragon and Sports Direct.
David Stewart, chief executive of Odey, said: “Our stock selection has been good. It wasn’t a stockpicker’s year last year but we held our nerve.”
And Lagrange made 4.7 per cent in GLG’s European long-short hedge fund in January following a return of 7.2 per cent last year.
GLG, part of Man Group, the world’s largest listed hedge fund manager, also saw gains of 4.2 per cent in John White’s Alpha Select fund and 3.9 per cent in its Emerging Markets fund.
During the month the Eurozone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 gained 4.3 per cent and the FTSE 100 rose two per cent.
The figures mark a return to form for the industry after last year, when the average hedge fund lost around five per cent. Funds gained 1.72 per cent last month, according to Hedge Fund Research’s HFRX index.
Equity funds were among the best performers, gaining 2.07 per cent, after the European Central Bank flooded banks with €489bn (£405bn) in loans in December. More cash is expected to follow later this month.
