Hedge Fund Assets Top $1 Trillion for First Time

Hedge funds attracted a record $27.4 billion from institutional and wealthy investors in the first quarter, helping to push assets to more than $1 trillion for the first time, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.

Money streamed in faster than at any other time since Hedge Fund Research began gathering data in 2000, topping the fourth quarter’s $27 billion, the firm said Wednesday.

Total industry assets reached $1.01 trillion, it said.

Pension funds, endowments and other big investors have been pouring money into the loosely regulated private pools to boost returns and diversify their investments. Hedge funds pursue a wide range of investment strategies, unlike most conventional mutual funds, which tend to buy and hold stocks or bonds.

Hedge fund assets have grown from $39 billion in 1990, when there were 610 funds. There now are more than 7,900 funds.