Hedge Fund Research, a firm that tracks the ups and downs of the hedge fund industry, reported that hedge funds rose by 2.4 percent on average during the first quarter of 2015. That figure surpasses the stagnant S&P 500 which rose by 0.4 percent during the same period.
This news comes as a positive reflection on the hedge fund industry after a long stretch of bad news and slow to no growth. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index rose by 0.5 percent in March, helping the index grow by a total of 1.4 percent for the quarter.
Hedge funds have been getting bad press in recent months. They have been criticized for charging high management fees with little to show by way of returns on investment. Last year was especially harsh with an average gain of only 3.3 percent compared to the S&P 500’s gain of a solid 12 percent.