The money management industry’s push to bring hedge fund-style trading to the masses has suffered a setback.

Investors yanked more than $5 billion so far this year from the largest and most popular "liquid-alternative" mutual fund as losses mounted on bad bets tied to the global economy, according to fund research firm Morningstar Inc. Assets in the MainStay Marketfield fund have fallen 45% from a February peak of $21.5 billion.