Hedge funds performed positively in March on average, according to the latest Dow Jones Credit Suisse Hedge Fund Index.

Five of the ten strategies in the index performed positively, with overall performance up 0.12 per cent.

The Japanese earthquake caused early losses for equity market neutral managers, but re-risking towards the end of the month meant they finished March up 1.11 per cent.

Global macro managers benefited from the earthquake, as the resulting market dislocation created a number of shorter-term tactical trading opportunities, and they finished the month up 0.15 per cent.

Managers gained from long currency and equity positions bolstered by better than estimated earnings in emerging markets - the best performing sector in March, up 2.12 per cent.