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VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices

Methodology

Last updated: October 26, 2022

VisionTrack currently maintains four (4) crypto hedge fund indices.

Index Name

Short Name

VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Composite Index

VisionTrack Composite Index

VisionTrack Crypto HF Fundamental Index

VisionTrack Fundamental Index

VisionTrack Crypto HF Quantitative Index

VisionTrack Quantitative Index

VisionTrack Crypto HF Market Neutral Index

VisionTrack Market Neutral Index

VisionTrack segments all crypto hedge funds into one of three categories, namely: 1) Fundamental, 2) Quantitative, or 3) Market Neutral. The VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Composite Index aggregates all these strategies into one index at the headline level. The VisionTrack Composite Index is designed to capture the breadth of crypto hedge fund performance across all strategies and to represent the crypto hedge fund category, as a whole.

Key Features

  • Tracks the performance of actively managed crypto and digital asset-focused hedge funds

  • High data integrity; self-reported GP performance only (no LP reporting)

  • Tracked, calculated, and maintained using VisionTrack proprietary models and methodology. VisionTrack is the administration agent, calculation agent, and distribution agent for all VisionTrack Indices

  • Rules-based index methodology

  • Equal-weighted and re-balanced monthly

Guiding Principles

Data Integrity

VisionTrack provides contribution instructions and guidelines to GPs when submitting performance data to the VisionTrack Database and the corresponding eligible VisionTrack Indices to ensure calculations are consistent with our methodologies. VisionTrack runs a disciplined tracking process and personally manages its relationships with each of the general partners contributing performance data to the indices. Data is self-reported directly to VisionTrack from these GPs (there is no LP reporting). Contributed data is reviewed internally by the VisionTrack team. VisionTrack reserves the right to exclude any data from the VisionTrack Database or to remove any individual constituent from the VisionTrack Indices at any time for any reason if it believes the data compromises the integrity of the index.

Diversification

Each index is equal-weighted based on its individual constituents.

Representative

The VisionTrack Indices provide proxies for the broader actively managed crypto hedge fund landscape across multiple strategies.

Continuity

The VisionTrack Indices are responsive to the changing nature of the crypto asset class in a manner that does not completely reshape the character of the indices from year to year.



Index Segmentation


VisionTrack segments all crypto hedge funds into one of three categories, namely: 1) Fundamental, 2) Quantitative, or 3) Market Neutral. The VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Composite Index aggregates all these strategies into one index at the headline level. The VisionTrack Composite Index is designed to capture the breadth of crypto hedge fund performance across all strategies and to represent the crypto hedge fund category as a whole.

The VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Composite Index acts as the headline index, which includes all types of strategies. The three sub-indices (Fundamental, Quantitative, Market Neutral) divide up the constituents into their respective primary strategy classification according to VisionTrack’s proprietary methodology. These primary strategy sub-indices are designed to provide more granular relative benchmarks based on the different types of strategies employed by crypto hedge fund managers.

VisionTrack Primary Strategy Classifications

FUNDAMENTAL

  • Long Only – Fundamental Long Only strategies employ investment processes based on extensive, thorough, and repeatable research designed to identify a fundamental case for value, growth, or appreciation in the network or token. Various quantitative and qualitative metrics and early crypto valuation techniques are used to select cryptoassets for investment that have the potential to accrue value. These managers find assets they have high conviction in and buy and hold these assets for an identified investment period.

  • Long / Short – Fundamental Long / Short strategiessimilarly employ extensive research in the space, but instead of only focusing on buying and holding assets that managers believe will accrue value, they also short-sell assets via spot, futures, and derivatives that they believe are expected to decrease in value. Long / short strategies can have directional bias to the upside or downside, or can be more directionally neutral by focusing on relative value between various crypto assets.

QUANTITATIVE

  • Directional – Quantitative Directional strategies employ sophisticated quantitative analytical techniques based on price data and various model signals to determine timing and execution of directional positioning. Models and trading utilized by managers can be fully systematic (no human intervention) or often have some discretionary overlay to interpret the signals or to continually optimize the strategy and allocations to various strategies. Directional strategies can include momentum, trend following, mean reversion, sentiment, or some signal-based approach. Quantitative directional strategies generally maintain varying levels of net long or net short exposure to the market over various investment periods and market cycles.

MARKET NEUTRAL

  • Market Neutral – Market Neutral strategies generally employ various techniques to reduce market exposure in various ways, including factor model reduction strategies, beta neutral strategies, delta neutral strategies, or absolute return arbitrage opportunities. Market Neutral strategies crypto strategies differ from their directional counterpart by reducing the directional exposure of the strategy to create a market neutral or low beta exposure to the market and often have a reduced volatility to their directional counterparts. Types of market neutral crypto strategies include funding rate and basis arbitrage, on-chain / MEV strategies, CEX-DEX arb, lending and credit strategies, DeFi liquidity provisioning / yield farming, volatility trading, interest rate arb, statistical arb, and HFT.

Index Inclusion Criteria

To be eligible for inclusion in the VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices, a hedge fund must:

  • Contribute performance to the VisionTrack Database

  • Contribute consistent and timely performance to VisionTrack to limit self-reporting bias

  • Be structured as a hedge fund in a commingled fund structure

  • Report returns as a hedge fund, not an SMA or other managed account

  • Report monthly returns

  • Report net of all fees returns

  • Report returns in USD denomination

  • Have been actively in operation as a fund for at least 1 month with a minimum of $1mm in USD assets under management

Quick Facts

Index Family

VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices

Owner

Galaxy Vision Hill Group, LLC, dba “VisionTrack”

Base Index Value

100

Initial Base Index Date

January 1, 2018

Index Denomination

USD

Reporting Style

Net of All Fees

Index Rebalanced

Monthly

Index Administrator

VisionTrack

Index Calculation Agent

VisionTrack

Calculation Frequency

Monthly estimates for index levels are published ~T+15 days after each month end and then updated throughout the period until the Final Fixing Final index level fixings are published ~T+60 days after each month end.

Example: July Index levels

Estimates: ~August 15th

Final Fixings: ~October 1st


Slight timing variations may occur depending on certain monthly factors. Estimates may be updated on an ongoing basis until final index fixings are determined.

Investable Index

No – Contact VisionTrack for custom investable indices.

Index Inclusion Criteria

Managers must contribute performance to the VisionTrack Database in order to be eligible for the VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices.

Publication Methodology

Estimates

~ T+15 days after each month end

Final Fixings

~ T+60 days after each month end

Bias Mitigation (Self-Reporting, Survivorship, and Backfill Bias)

VisionTrack reserves the right to remove funds from its indices that do not report on a consistent and timely basis to mitigate self-reporting bias. VisionTrack rebalances the VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices monthly on an equal-weighted basis. This continuous periodic rebalancing mitigates survivorship bias by including eligible new funds on each rebalancing date. As long as a fund maintains its eligibility for the respective index, it will remain as a constituent of that index. VisionTrack also refrains from including any historical data for a given new fund prior to the inclusion date of that fund. Performance data may be reported to the VisionTrack Database, but performance for index inclusion purposes only begins upon the index inclusion date to mitigate backfill bias.

Disclaimers

The VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices are a family of crypto hedge fund indices owned and administered by VisionTrack and Galaxy Vision Hill Group, LLC. The VisionTrack Crypto Hedge Fund Indices are designed to represent the overall performance of actively managed crypto and digital asset-focused hedge funds. Performance of an index is not illustrative of any particular investment. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Historical performance is not indicative of future results. Performance information for the indices is provided for informational purposes only. The content provided herein should not be considered investment advice, and is not a recommendation of, or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, any particular security, strategy, or investment product.