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Equity Hedge and Event Driven lead strategy performance;

HFRI Healthcare, Commodity Indices post declines

 

CHICAGO, (June 5, 2026) – Hedge funds extended their recent historic performance surge in May, driven by strong gains in Technology equities and AI exposures coupled with a sharp decline in oil prices, as managers also positioned for an expected record IPO cycle in the coming months.

The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index^® (FWC) advanced +1.6 percent in May, led by Equity Hedge and Event Driven funds, as reported today by HFR®, the established global leader in the indexation, analysis and research of the global hedge fund industry.

“2026 has been the extreme opposite of a passive beta equity index exposure market cycle” said Kenneth J. Heinz, President of HFR. “Since the beginning of the year, hedge funds have successfully navigated a succession of intense market dislocations and reversals in equities and commodities, including in the much-vaunted technology sector. Geopolitical uncertainty and global volatility continue driving headlines, presenting dynamic trading opportunities for specialized, experienced and savvy active managers.”

The HFRI Equity Hedge (Total) Index surged +2.7 percent in May to lead strategy performance, driven by the HFRI EH: Technology Index, which soared +10.6 percent for the month, building on April’s gain of +10.5 percent; the Tech Index’s two-month return of +22.3 percent is the highest such period since index inception (Jan2008). The HFRI EH: Quantitative Directional Index and HFRI EH: Fundamental Growth Index also added to the strong May EH performance, gaining +4.0 and +3.75 percent, respectively, while the HFRI EH: Healthcare Index declined -2.0 percent.

Event-Driven (ED) strategies responded positively to optimism for a healthy M&A and IPO environment in the months ahead, as the HFRI Event-Driven (Total) Index climbed +2.1 percent for the month, led by the HFRI ED: Activist Index (+4.8 percent) and the HFRI ED: Special Situations Index (+2.6 percent). Complementing these, the HFRI ED: Distressed/Restructuring Index added +2.0 percent in May.

Fixed income-based, interest rate-sensitive strategies benefited from increased clarity regarding the leadership at the US Federal Reserve, as the HFRI Relative Value (Total) Index added +0.6 percent for the month despite an increase in interest rates. RVA sub-strategy performance was led by the HFRI Fixed Income: Corporate Index and HFRI RV: Multi-Strategy Index, both of which advanced +0.9 percent, as well as the HFRI RV: FI-Asset Backed and HFRI RV: FI-Convertible Arbitrage indices, both of which added +0.8 percent in May.

Once again navigating extreme volatility and a sharp decline in oil prices, the HFRI Macro (Total) Index ended the month up slightly, gaining +0.2 percent. Macro sub-strategy performance was led by the HFRI Macro: Active Trading Index, which advanced +1.7 percent, and the HFRI Macro: Discretionary Thematic Index, which added +1.2 percent in May. Offsetting these gains, the HFRI Macro: Commodity Index declined -1.1 percent and the HFRI Macro: Systematic Diversified/CTA Index fell -0.5 percent for the month. The HFR Cryptocurrency Index declined slightly in May, falling -0.3 percent, while the HFRI Multi-Manager/Pod Shop Index added +1.5 percent for the month.

 

HFR LAUNCHES TENDER OFFER FUNDS INDICES

HFR is pleased to announce the launch of Tender Offer Indices, which track total performance returns of equal- and asset-weighted basket of Tender Offer funds on a daily basis. The HFR Tender Offer Funds Asset Weighted Index posted a gain of +1.0 percent in May 2026, increasing its YTD return to +2.9 percent. To learn more about the HFR Tender Offer Funds Indices, visit HFR.com.

Liquid Alternative UCITS strategies advanced in May with the HFRX Market Directional Index surging +5.0 percent, while the HFRX Global Index rose +1.7 percent. HFRX main strategy performance was led by the HFRX Equity Hedge Index, which advanced +2.9 percent in May with strong contributions from the HFRX EH: Fundamental Growth Index, which surged +5.4 percent for the month.

Hedge fund performance dispersion contracted in May, as the top decile of the HFRI FWC constituents advanced by an average of +13.2 percent, while the bottom decile of constituents fell by an average of -5.8 percent, representing a top/bottom dispersion of 19.0 percent for the month. By comparison, the top/bottom performance dispersion in April was 22.2 percent. For the trailing 12 months ending May 2026, the top decile of FWC constituents gained +92.4 percent, while the bottom decile declined -9.0 percent, representing a top/bottom dispersion of 101.4 percent. Approximately 70% of hedge funds produced positive performance in May.

 

NOTE: May 2026 index performance figures are estimated as of June 5, 2026