With high expectations for the economy and huge government spending, the size of hedge fund assets has surged to record levels.

According to the latest BarclayHedge data, by the end of March, the total assets of the industry had expanded to 4.07 trillion US dollars, and managed assets broke through the 4 trillion US dollar mark for the first time in February.

This growth is due to the steady performance of hedge funds and increased investor interest in continuing to invest cash in the sector. Over the past 12 months, hedge fund trading profits alone have surpassed $500 billion, reaching $552.1 billion. The assets under management expanded by more than 42% over the same period.

BarclayHedge President Sol Waksman said: “The easing of lockdown measures, optimistic economic forecasts, rising stock and commodity prices, and President Biden's $1.9 trillion recovery plan have boosted investors' optimism.”

Hedge funds' returns continue to lag behind the S&P 500 index, but they are still making considerable profits against the backdrop of strong risk-asset performance. As of April, the Barclays Hedge Fund Index rose 7.06%, while the return on the S&P 500 Total Return Index (including dividends) was 11.84% over the same period.

Although market activity has always been focused on stocks, bond funds actually attract the most interest from hedge funds. Despite higher yields, bond funds attracted $6.9 billion in new investor capital in March.