Most investable hedge funds posted gains last month, according to new figures from Hedge Fund Research.

Overall, investable funds returned 1.2% in April, cutting their year-to-date loss to 1.62%. Equity hedge and relative value arbitrage funds led the way, with the former rising 2.4% to halve its year-to-date decline (now 2.5%) and the latter gaining 1.55%, though it remains down 6.6% on the year.

Event-driven funds added 1.16% in April (down 2.13% YTD), while equity-market neutral funds returned 1.03% (up 1.06% YTD) and merger arbitrage funds rose 0.97% (up 1.21% YTD).

In the red column were distressed securities (down 0.88% in April and 3.16% YTD), convertible arbitrage (down 0.83% in April and 6.72% YTD) and macro (down 0.65% in April but up 8.58% on the year, the best of any strategy).