NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)–A survey of almost 200 U.S. nonprofit healthcare organizations indicates that multi-strategy vehicles are the most common hedge fund investment for this group of institutions.
Participants in the study, conducted by Commonfund, had US$91 billion in operating funds and US$37 billion in defined-benefit pension assets for the period ended December 2004. Alternative investments accounted for 9% to 10% of total assets.
Within alternatives, hedge funds had grown at the expense of private equity from fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 2004. Hedge funds represented 73% of operating assets in alternatives and 68% of defined-benefit assets in alternatives.
Among hedge fund sectors, multi-strategy was used by 72% of organizations, absolute return by 51%, and long/short equity by 49%. Slightly less than one-third invested via funds of funds.
Larger organizations used all strategies, particularly distressed debt, more often than smaller institutions. The latter most often used multi-strategy.