S&P HF Index Another Refco Casualty?

Standard & Poor’s just couldn’t cut it in hedge funds, and its index venture in the industry may be yet another victim of the Refco debacle. The Wall Street Journal reports that when the sun sets today on the S&P Hedge Fund Index, only four years after its birth, its demise may be the result of a partnership that involved PlusFunds Group and the collapse futures broker. Because S&P lacked HF experience, it enlisted the help of PlusFunds to develop products based on the index and hooked up with Refco to create investment instruments that would track the fledgling index, as well as Rydex Investments, which launched its Rydex SPhinX mutual fund for the occasion. Problems arose late last year when Refco filed for bankruptcy, and, according to the Journal, at least one of the HFs sponsored by PlusFunds had futures and cash with Refco-affiliated firms, and with the bankruptcy, a court barred withdrawal of about 10% of SPhinX assets. After that, hedge funds continued to withdraw from the index, including those run by Bridgewater Associates, Deephaven Capital and Rotella Capital. S&P, which blamed the dwindling numbers of managed accounts and their distribution in the index for its suspension, said it may return in a monthly format.