The average equity hedge fund is down 10.4% in March, according to Hedge Fund Research. That is the worst monthly performance on record.

This latest collapse comes at a particularly ugly time, as The FT notes, hedge funds have already suffered investor outflows for 13 of the past 17 quarters - with buoyant markets helping to keep the industry's assets under management steady at about $3tn - and the number of firms has shrunk for five consecutive years.