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Data drawn from more than 5,000 hedge funds in the BarclayHedge database estimated that the hedge fund industry (excluding CTAs) redeemed $1.9 billion (0.1% of assets) in April, the first net outflow of 2018 and a turnabout from inflows of $6.1 billion (0.2% of assets) in March. Industry assets climbed 3.3% year-to-date and surged 22.5% over the trailing 12 months, according to the Barclay Fund Flow Indicator, a monthly big-picture report on the health of the alternative investments industry.

"Though hedge fund investors seemed a bit skittish in April, the industry has fared well over a longer time frame," said Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. "Hedge funds took in $26.3 billion (0.9% of assets) year-to-date and $108.2 billion (4.3% of assets) in the trailing 12 months."

Fixed Income hedge funds enjoyed the heaviest inflows in the trailing 12 months ending in April, adding $31.9 billion (6.8% of assets), the Barclay report estimated. Macro funds suffered the heaviest outflows in the same time span, redeeming $15.6 billion (-7.1% of assets).

At the regional level, hedge funds focusing on the U.K. had the highest April inflows at $3.3 billion (0.5% of assets). U.S.-focused funds saw the heaviest outflows, redeeming $1.3 billion (-0.1% of assets).

"Funds focusing on the U.S. had the most redemptions for the second month in a row despite healthy corporate earnings in April and solid economic fundamentals," Waksman said. "Investors seem to be seeing U.K. funds as a haven from anxieties about trade and tariffs."

In the managed futures sector, commodity trading adviser (CTA) funds endured a second month of outflows in April even as oil prices hit a 41-month high. Redemptions from CTAs jumped more than fourfold to $1.3 billion (-0.4% of assets) by month's end, according to the Fund Flow Indicator. Industry assets totaled $367.1 billion in April, down slightly from the month before.

"Despite a rough couple of months for CTA funds, the rising tide in worldwide commodity prices is lifting boats across the managed futures sector," Waksman said. "CTA assets have swelled 11.8% from their interim low of $328.2 billion in October 2014."