Global macro hedge funds rebound in July, some stock funds fall

BOSTON/LONDON (Reuters) - Big hedge funds that bet on currencies and interest rates had their best July in years, according to figures obtained by Reuters, while the performance of stock-picking hedge fund managers was mixed due to market gyrations.

The returns put most prominent macro-focused hedge funds into the black for the year, after losses in April and June, but they still lag their equities-focused rivals year-to-date, according to the figures.

Among the biggest global macro hedge fund winners in July was Robert Citrone's Discovery Capital Management and Cantab Capital Partners Quantitative Fund, which gained 5.88 percent and 6.25 percent during the month, respectively.

Winton Futures Fund, which manages about $12 billion, gained 4.4 percent in July, taking its year-to-date return to 2.4 percent, the data showed. And Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates' Pure Alpha fund gained 2 percent in July and is up 9 percent for the year.

In general, global macro funds gained an average 2.3 percent after dipping 2.7 percent in June, HFR data showed.

It was "their best performance since July 2011, as managers were positioned for gains in European and U.S. equity markets, gains in U.S. dollar and declines in commodities," said Bruno Schneller, chief investment officer at fund group Skenderbeg Alternative Investments.

Hedge funds with a more stock-picking approach had a mixed performance in July, as stock market gyrations fueled by debt crisis fears in Europe and trouble in China's once booming stock market put some into the red.

Among the losers were David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital, Larry Robbins' $14 billion Glenview Capital, and Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners, off 6.1 percent, 2.1 percent, and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Stock-picking winners, however, included William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, up 6.6 percent; Mark Kingdon's Kingdon Capital, up 2.4 percent, and Chase Coleman's Tiger Global, up 3.7 percent.

Despite the mixed performance in July, stock-picking hedge funds are showing stronger returns year-to-date than global macro funds. Kingdon, for example, is up more than 15 percent, while Pershing Square, helped by gains in Herbalife, is up 10 percent.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Andrew Hay)