This week Financial News will look at how some of the main hedge fund strategies have fared in the first quarter. Today we feature long/short equities and event-driven, with the focus switching to global macro, managed futures and credit strategies tomorrow.

Three months in and hedge funds have staged a strong start to the year, with the average hedge fund ending the first quarter up 3.9%, creating a new performance high-water mark for the $2.25 trillion industry, after surpassing the previous peak set in April 2011, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research.