New data from the Citco group of companies' (Citco), the asset servicer with over $2 trillion in AUA, reports that hedge funds navigated the tariff turmoil to deliver a weighted average return of 0.9%.
All-in-all, over half of funds are in the green, with 53% of Hedge Funds administered by Citco have achieved positive returns in April 2025.
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Highlights:
- Equities funds led the way with a weighted average return of 1.7%. This was followed by Global Macro funds at 1.7%.
- Commodities funds were the only negative strategy type, returning -2% for the month of April, Fixed Income Arbitrage funds came in level with 0% returns.
- Almost all funds by an Asset under administration (AUA) basis came in positive. The largest funds returned the highest, with funds over 3bn returning 1.3%, followed by 1bn-3bn at 0.7%. Only the smallest funds (<200m) returned negatively, with -0.3%.
- It was a strongest month in 2025 so far for net inflows, reaching $4.6bn overall, as investors reacted to volatility, with Multi-Strategy funds in particular receiving plenty of interest, with a net inflow of $3.4bn.
- Rate of return spread moved higher as the difference between 90th and 10th percentile fund returns rose to 9.6%, up from 9.4% in March,
- Regional capital flow: European funds had the highest net inflow ($2.3bn). The Americas ($2.1bn) and Asia ($0.2bn) both saw smaller positive net inflows in April.
- Treasury payments processed by Citco remain in record high territory, with another month of over 50,000 payments processed. In total, 59.479 treasury payments were processed, 19% higher than the same month in 2024.
Executive Summary
Performance
Hedge funds managed to navigate through choppy markets to deliver positive performance in April amid the fallout from the introduction of trade tariffs, with more than half of all funds in the green.
Hedge funds administered by the Citco group of companies (Citco) achieved an overall weighted average return of 0.9%, with 53% of funds positive, as most strategy groups managed to ride the wave of volatility that swept through markets in response to plans from the US President to add tariffs to a wide range of goods entering the US.
Equity and Event-Driven funds were the top performers in April, both seeing weighted average returns of 1.7%, while Global Macro strategies were up 1.2%. Multi-Strategy funds also made gains, with a weighted average return of 0.3%.
Meanwhile Fixed Income Arbitrage strategies were flat, while Commodities strategies were the outliers, with a weighted average return of -2%, reversing last month’s gains.
On an assets under administration (AUA) basis, most categories also had a positive April. Funds with more than $3bn of AUA outperformed smaller peers, with a weighted average return of 1.3%, followed by the $1bn-$3bn category, at 0.7%, and then the $550m-$1bn grouping, at 0.5%. Funds with between $200m-$500m of AUA came in at 0.1%, while funds with less than $200m had a small decline, with a weighted average return of -0.3%.
Continuing the trend seen in March, the rate of return spread – the difference between the 90th and 10th percentile fund returns – moved higher, at 9.6% in April, up from 9.4% in March, indicating divergent positioning across funds.
Capital Flows
Hedge funds saw the highest inflows year-to-date in April amid a spike in volatility across markets, with Multi-Strategy funds in particular seeing heightened interest.
Net inflows came in at $4.6bn in April, more than reversing the net outflows seen the previous month, and YTD net inflows now stand at $13.6bn.
Multi-Strategy funds saw particularly strong net inflows of $3.4bn in April, taking them to $7.4bn YTD. Funds of Funds ($0.7bn), Hybrid ($0.6bn) and Arbitrage ($0.3bn) strategies were also positive in April, as were Global Macro ($0.2bn) and Event Driven ($0.1bn). Meanwhile there were small net outflows from Emerging Markets (-$0.1bn) and Equity strategies ($-0.5bn).
On an Assets under Administration (AUA) basis, the largest funds with more than $10bn of AUA once again attracted the highest net inflows, at $2.4bn, followed by the sub $1bn category, at $1.1bn. Funds with between $5bn-$10bn of AUA saw net inflows of $0.8bn, followed by funds with between $1bn-$5bn at $0.3bn.
April’s figures mean the largest funds have seen net inflows of $11.5bn YTD, followed by the $5bn-$10bn of AUA grouping, at $3.4bn, and the $1bn-$5bn of AUA category, at $1bn. The smallest funds with less than $1bn of AUA are the only category to see net outflows, which stand at $2.3bn YTD.
Meanwhile, on a regional basis, funds in Europe had the highest net inflows in April, at $2.3bn, taking them to $6.6bn YTD. Funds in the Americas also saw net inflows of $2.1bn, taking them to $7.6bn YTD, while Asia had smaller net inflows of $0.2bn, leaving them with small net outflows of $0.6bn YTD.
Citco 2025 Q1 Hedge Fund Report
Anticipation of sweeping trade tariffs sent shockwaves through markets in the latter stages of the first quarter.
Hedge funds nevertheless managed to rack up their 10th consecutive quarter of positive returns after a very strong start to the year.
Funds administered by the Citco group of companies (Citco) achieved an overall weighted average return of 2.8% in Q1, matching the previous quarter, with 62% of funds in positive territory.
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Performance
Overview of Investor Flows
Read the full report here by Citco
About the Citco group of companies (Citco)
The Citco group of companies (Citco) is a network of independent companies worldwide. These companies are leading providers of asset-servicing solutions to the global alternative investment industry. With $2 trillion in assets under administration and operations spanning across 36 countries, Citco’s unique culture of innovation and client-driven solutions have provided Citco’s clients with a trusted partner for more than four decades.
