Brevan Howard and Winton hedge funds surge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's not all gloom and doom in the hedge fund sector, despite some widely publicized meltdowns among funds that invested in credit securities.

For instance, Brevan Howard Asset Management's flagship fund, which manages nearly $17 billion (8 billion pounds), was up 17.1 percent in the year-to-date through February, according to a March 5 letter to investors.

London-based Brevan Howard, one of Europe's biggest hedge fund groups with about $21 billion in total assets, trades mainly in currencies, government debt and other securities in a strategy known as "global macro."

The firm announced recently it plans to list a second "feeder" fund on the London Stock Exchange after last March's listing of BH Macro Ltd (BHMG.L), which raised $1 billion and has grown to more than $1.8 billion over the year.

The new multi-strategy fund, BH Global Ltd, is expected to raise some $500 million, which will be invested in a variety of Brevan Howard funds with up to 50 percent in the main Master Fund.

A spokesman declined to comment.

Global macro strategies, which are estimated to make up about $200 billion of the $1.9 trillion hedge fund industry, are bright spots in an otherwise challenging industry, which fell 2.46 percent in January, according to industry tracker Hedge Fund Research.

Global macro strategies gained 1.1 percent that month after being up 11.2 percent in 2007, HFR said. Some funds, such as Louis Bacon's Moore Global Fixed Income Fund, well exceeded the average, with that $3.9 billion fund gaining 6.16 percent by mid-February, according to investors who have seen the numbers.

Another bright spot is funds that trade in commodities and futures, many of which have risen dramatically in recent years on emerging market demand, energy price gains and higher crop prices.

Winton Capital Management's flagship Futures Fund, for instance, is up 12 percent this year, with a hefty 7.9 percent gain last month, according to an investor letter.

The London-based fund, which has around $5.4 billion in assets, attributed its gains to "renewed strength in the commodities markets, with our long positions in grain, precious metal and energy sectors all making positive contributions," according to the note.

"Elsewhere, the U.S. dollar renewed its overall decline towards month-end, with our long position in the euro being the main beneficiary," said Winton, which is headed by David Harding. Last year, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) bought a 9.99 percent stake in Winton.

A Winton spokesman could not be reached for comment.