Hedge funds stellar November can't erase rest of year woe

By Gregor Stuart Hunter

Indian hedge funds had just caught a break in a lousy year when the shock exit of central bank Governor Urjit Patel sparked a sell-off Tuesday. Now things are looking grim again.

Funds running strategies focused on Asia’s fastest-growing economy made gains of 8.5 percent during November, easily beating the average emerging-market portfolio which returned 1.6 percent, according to data from eVestment. India-exposed funds are the worst performing strategy of 2018, down 16.3 percent year-to-date, the data show.

The surprise resignation of the Reserve Bank of India governor rattled markets on Tuesday, heaping pressure on investors already spooked by the nation’s politics. Exit polls released Friday showed prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party losing ground to the rival Congress Party in five state elections due to report results today. The rupee slid 1.2 percent against the dollar and the S&P BSE Sensex Index lost 0.8 percent.

The Indian equity benchmark has fallen about 9 percent in dollar terms in 2018, hurt by negative sentiment toward emerging-market assets and higher oil prices.