(HedgeCo.Net) In a surprising reversal of recent years, liquid alternative strategies are once again attracting fresh capital. According to a semiannual study by Lupus Alpha based on LSEG Lipper data, the first half of 2025 delivered €6.9?billion in net inflows to liquid alternatives. lupusalpha.fr+1
Much of the inflows were concentrated in fixed income–oriented alternative strategies: “Absolute Return Bond” and “Alternative Credit Focus” together accounted for nearly €4.9?billion of the total. lupusalpha.com+1 Defensive equity variants—such as market-neutral and long/short equity strategies—also posted positive flows. lupusalpha.com The data suggests that investors, unsettled by macro risks (tariff announcements, interest rate uncertainty, geopolitical tension), are reallocating more into diversifying, lower?volatility alternatives.
However, performance in the period was muted. In euro terms, the average liquid alternatives fund returned –1.87?percent, a drag largely driven by the strong depreciation of the U.S. dollar (? 14?percent weaker vs. the euro) which weighed heavily on unhedged global strategies. lupusalpha.com+1 In fact, the inflows didn’t fully offset performance headwinds, resulting in a modest contraction in total AUM—from €243.2B to €241.8B. lupusalpha.com
What’s driving the renewed interest? Analysts point to several catalysts:
- Volatility and macro shocks: The resurgence of trade policy uncertainty (e.g. tariff alerts) drove investors to revisit lowly correlated instruments. lupusalpha.fr+1
- Revised allocations: Institutions and wealth managers are increasingly embedding hedge?style liquid strategies as part of a broader “alternatives bucket.” BlackRock reports seeing net inflows into its hedge fund platform globally in 2025. BlackRock
- Access and structure evolution: Innovations in multi?manager wrappers, managed accounts, and “ETF?style” liquid alts are making alternatives more digestible to non?institutional investors. BlackRock
Still, the recovery is patchy—only eight of 14 strategy types studied saw net inflows in the half?year. lupusalpha.com And while institutional share classes accounted for about 49.5?percent of inflows (just below late?2024 levels), retail and intermediary channels are also contributing meaningfully. lupusalpha.com+1
Looking ahead, whether this uptick is sustainable will depend on how strategies fare amid rate volatility, whether investors maintain conviction, and how liquid alternative managers manage capacity constraints and performance dispersion.