Intensifying fears of a market correction mean hedge fund managers and investors are putting plans on hold. The number of both fund launches and fund searches almost halved in Q3 compared to Q2. Hedge funds may have gained a modest return of +2.14% over the 12 months to September, but the asset class continues to help ease market bumps caused by political turbulence, recording comparably lower volatility than equity markets, which have suffered huge swings in recent quarters.

CTAs and macro strategies in particular reduce correlation to equity markets, and these strategies have the best six-month returns to September, rewarding investors that have positioned more defensively in response to deepening political tensions.

The Q3 edition of the Hedge Fund Quarterly Update presents the latest data on performance and benchmarking, fund searches and launches, as well as league tables for the largest fund managers in the industry.