Hedge funds have gained their first quarterly inflow of money for the first time in over two years as investors took a shine to their performance in volatile markets.

According to data provided by Hedge Fund Research (HFR), funds saw net subscriptions of capital across the third quarter of 2020, something that last happened in the first quarter of 2018.

HFR also noted strong performance during Covid-related volatility drove the net $13 billion inflow.

Investors also saw hedge funds as a means to position themselves for continued uncertainty surrounding both the coronavirus and the upcoming US elections, according to the report.

Macro and relative value arbitrage strategies led the inflows, which increased total industry assets under management to $3.31 trillion.

Kenneth J. Heinz, president of HFR, said in a statement: “Investors allocated new capital to hedge funds in Q3 as a result of both defensive outperformance through the coronavirus-driven volatility in early 2020, as well as opportunistic gains through the uneven financial market recovery in the second and third quarters.”