Turbulent market conditions have taken a heavy toll on the hedge fund industry, but a select group of investors is still optimistic about the long-term success of the industry.

According to a new Prequin survey, 46.6% of institutional investors said that their long-term outlook on the hedge fund industry was positive and 67.8% of investors have an unfilled long-term target allocation to the asset class. Just 5% of institutional investors described their activity as “mainly redeeming investments.”

And while the majority of institutional investors (75%) surveyed reported that their hedge fund investment returns had fallen short of original expectations, more than half (53%) are satisfied with their hedge fund returns.

“Through our research and analysis it is clear that a number of institutional investors are delaying making new investments with hedge fund managers, however, few are redeeming their investments,” said Amy Bensted, a Prequin spokesman. “As institutional investors have a longer term investment horizon, many still believe in the ability of hedge funds to provide returns and a significant number have seen hedge funds as some of the better performing aspects of their portfolio.”