New York: Hedge funds are getting a pick-me-up from the stock market and rebounding from a harsh 2018 to their best quarterly performance in a decade. Managers returned 5.9% on a fund-weighted basis, posting their strongest showing since the third quarter of 2009, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. The long-short equity strategy led the pack, gaining 7.9%. “For a lot of the strategies there is a dependency on the markets and the ongoing relatively benign economic environment that we live in," said Ian Haas, Neuberger Berman’s head of quantitative and directional strategy research.