HedgeFund.net (HFN) has announced the launch of a new hedge fund benchmark for funds that invest in Latin America. The HFN Latin America Average launched with 80 constituent investment vehicles, including 43 that invest specifically in Brazil and another 37 that invest in broader emerging markets in Latin America.

As of Wednesday, April 4, the HFN Latin America Average had an estimated return of 1.42% for February, and final returns of 1.66% for January 2007 YTD and 29.86% for 2006 - all of which were the best performing regional averages tracked by HFN.

HFN maintains a database of more than 7,200 hedge fund, fund of fund, and CTA/Managed Futures investment vehicles. Fund performance is reported (net of fees) on a monthly basis. Monitoring trends within the Hedge Fund Industry, including investor interest and fund launches, HFN has noted increased investor interest in emerging markets.

At the same time, HFN has commenced tracking a growing number of funds investing in Latin America. Approximately 64% of HFN Latin America Average constituents have inception dates after January 2003.