Among other figures, data showed that assets under management in the emerging market hedge fund space reached the highest level since the second quarter of 2022.     

Gains of emerging markets hedge funds accelerated through the middle of 2024, industry figures showed.

The HFRI Emerging Markets: Global Index, issued by Hedge Fund Research, rose by 6.8 per cent in the year to date through May, led by the HFRI EM: Asia ex-Japan Index, rising 5.1 per cent, and the HFRI EM: India Index, up 4.3 per cent.

Total emerging markets and Asian hedge fund assets rose, with assets under management rising to about $250 billion, while total estimated capital invested in Asian hedge funds rose to nearly $133 billion. Both these figures represented the highest capital levels since the second quarter of 2022.

The HFRI Emerging Markets (Total) Index, which covers all EM regions, advanced 4.2 per cent year to date through May. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index®, which consists of funds investing in both emerging and developed markets, rose 5.2 per cent year to date, led by the HFRI Macro (Total) Index, which has risen by 7.0 per cent over the first five months of the year.

Other regional emerging markets indices posted mixed performance through early 2024 with the HFRI EM: Latin America Index logging a narrow gain of 0.2 per cent year to date, while the HFRI EM: MENA Index fell 2.8 per cent on rising geopolitical risks.

Elsewhere, hedge funds with high exposure to cryptocurrency across emerging market regions including South Korea, Russia, China, the Middle East, as well as Japan have surged recently, with the volatile HFR Cryptocurrency Index surging by 34.9 per cent year to date through May, this was after surging 67.7 per cent in 2023.