That figure underperformed the 1.52% monthly return from the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index in the month of February.

The Wilshire index provides a representative baseline for the performance of the broader liquid alternatives space. According to Wilshire Associates, the index aims “to deliver precise market measures for the performance of diversified liquid alternative investment strategies implemented through mutual fund structures, backed by a proprietary classification methodology.”

“Following the Reddit-induced deleveraging at the end of January, equity markets bounced back to reach all-time highs during the first three weeks of February,” said Jason Schwarz, Chief Operating Officer of the firm, in a statement.

How the Wilshire Associates indices fared

The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index measures the collective performance of the five Liquid Alternative strategies that make up the Wilshire Liquid Alternative Universe.

The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index is designed to provide a broad measure of the liquid alternative market by combining the performance of the Liquid Alternative Multi-Strategy Index, Liquid Alternative Equity Hedge Index, Liquid Alternative Event Driven Index, Liquid Alternative Global Macro Index, and Liquid Alternative Relative Value Index.

Here is a recap of Wilshire Associates’ individual indices.

• The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Equity Hedge Index was up 2.65% in February. That underperformed the HFRX Equity Hedge Index and its gain of 2.84%.  Equity markets enjoyed a positive month with tailwinds from robust fourth-quarter earnings; growth-oriented managers outperformed value-oriented managers during the month, though concerns with interest rates emerged in late February.
• The Wilshire Liquid Alternatives Event-Driven Index gained 0.99% in February. That fell short of the 1.33% return from the HFRX Event Driven Index.
• The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Global Macro Index finished the month higher by 1.54%. It outperformed the HFRX Macro/CTA Index and its monthly return of 1.29%.
• The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Relative Value Index finished the month up 0.20%. That fell short of the monthly gain of 0.41% from the HFRX Relative Value Arbitrage Index.
• The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Multi-Strategy Index returned 1.23% in February.

Related Story:  The Wilshire Liquid Alternative Index Returns 0.01% in January