Relative value strategies experience roller-coaster ride over the decade

Fixed income hedge funds have produced consistent returns. Although the stratgy is using less leverage, an abundance of corporate and sovereign debt should keep markets buoyant over the next few years.

Fixed income is not the flashiest hedge fund strategy but it is consistent. Over the past decade it has returned a comfortable 1% or 2% a quarter with only four negative quarters in that time.

These are hardly the headline returns of more volatile strategies when viewed short term, but over the long term relative value funds come out well. Hedge Fund Research’s relative value index has returned 101.86% on a cumulative basis and 7.28% on an annualised basis over January 1, 2000-10.

Until the