Small hedge funds have used their ability to manoeuvre in and out of the markets with greater ease to outstrip the performance of their larger rivals this year, according to new research, and in some cases almost double the level of returns to investors.

Funds managing less than $100m (€71m) made 9.7% between the start of the year and the end of May, while those with less than $500m returned 9.4%, according to analysts at Eurekahedge. These figures compare to the 5.2% that hedge funds managing over $500m made for their clients over the same period.