Are Chinese market-neutral strategy hedge funds really market neutral?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the “market-neutral” characteristics of the market-neutral strategy hedge funds in Chinese A-share market. Design/methodology/approach The analyses in the paper are conducted to study the market-neutral characteristics by means of index analysis, correlation analysis, β-neutral analysis and the three-factor model analysis. Findings The results show that the performance advantage of the market-neutral strategy hedge funds is obvious. Most market-neutral strategy funds are exposed to market risks and the α strategy funds also have obvious style factor exposure; strictly speaking, all of the market-neutral strategies have not reached the “market-neutral” requirements. This paper also finds that Chinese trading restrictions on stock index futures in September 2015 have a significant impact on Chinese market-neutral strategy hedge funds. Originality/value The conclusion of this paper has a certain reference value for understanding the risk characteristics and possible problems of hedge funds in emerging markets, and also has important reference value for investors.