The trend of positive net flows across the industry continued for a fifth consecutive month and overall assets under management increased by $3.1bn, bringing total industry assets to a record $1.88trn.
The strongest asset flows were directed into North America, and $3.9bn was committed to hedge funds in the region.
European hedge funds registered a fifth consecutive month of positive flows, reversing a two year trend of negative flows throughout 2011 and 2012. A total $1.5bn was invested in hedge funds based in the region during the month.
In terms of performance, the Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index was up 0.90% during May.
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) is due to come into law in July.
Lacklustre economic data from China lead to negative flows into Asia ex Japan, despite the sector’s outperformance over the past three months. It was the top performing sector over the month, gaining 2.04% versus a decline of 4.35% for the MSCI Asia Ex Japan Index.
May marked the seventh consecutive month of overall positive returns as the Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index rose 0.32% compared to a decline of 0.45% for the MSCI World Index.
