Hedge-Fund Nov. Losses Near Dot-Com Crash Levels

Hedge-fund investors suffered their worst month of investment performance since the bursting of the dot-com bubble, with intense volatility in global markets tipping every strategy into a loss, London newspaper the Times reported, citing preliminary figures from Hedge Fund Research (HFR).

The Global Hedge Fund Index worth $1.33 trillion lost 2.6 percent in the first 29 days of November, the Times said, despite many strategists predicting strong full-year profit for the sector.

The decline was last surpassed in April 2000, when HFR's Global Fund index down 3.9 percent after the value of Internet companies plunged. August's credit-market crunch caused a 2.55 percent drop in the index, the Times said.

Stock-market strategies were the hardest hit, with HFR's Equity Hedge index slumping more than 4 percent in November, while "event-driven" and convertible arbitrage strategies all generated losses, according to the London paper.