Hedge fund returns showed a marked divergence in April, with performance differences between top and bottom managers widening again as market conditions continued to favour skilled stock selection and active positioning, according to a data from HFR.

The strongest performers in the top decile delivered average gains of around 18.4% for the month, while the weakest cohort in the bottom decile fell roughly 4.1%. That resulted in a performance spread of about 22.5 percentage points, wider than the 19.1-point gap recorded in March, highlighting increasing dispersion across strategies.

The broader distribution also shows how concentrated gains have become over a longer horizon. Over the 12 months to the end of April 2026, top-quartile managers significantly outpaced peers, while weaker performers posted losses, producing an exceptionally wide gap in annual outcomes across the industry.

Despite the dispersion, overall industry performance remained broadly positive, with the majority of hedge funds delivering gains during the month. Roughly 85% of funds are estimated to have posted positive returns, indicating that while leadership is increasingly concentrated, market conditions still supported a wide base of profitable strategies.