Hedge funds' March performance worst in nine months - data

LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - Hedge funds had their weakest month since mid-2013 in March, data showed on Thursday, as investments took a hit from tensions in Ukraine and fears of a slowdown in China.

The asset-weighted SS&C GlobeOp Capital Performance Index showed the gross return of the average fund was minus 1.03 percent in March, the first and largest monthly drop since last June, although they remain up 2.46 percent year to date.

March was a mixed month for investments as the unrest in Ukraine and stuttering growth in the world's second largest economy, China, weighed on investor sentiment and saw the MSCI World Index edge 0.1 percent lower.

Britain's benchmark share index fell 3.1 percent and European shares finished last month down 1.1 percent. But the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.7 percent.

Funds also saw the highest net withdrawal of investor cash since December. The SS&C GlobeOp Capital Movement Index, which calculates monthly hedge fund subscriptions less redemptions, measured minus 0.5 percent during the month to April 1. (Reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Simon Jessop and Jane Merriman)