The battered hedge fund industry staged a comeback in the second quarter, both in terms of performance and assets invested.

The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite index gained 9.13% during the quarter, its best quarterly performance since fourth quarter 1999, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc., a Chicago-based hedge fund data company.

Leading the way were strategies focused on emerging markets, convertible arbitrage and energy/basic materials. These three areas were among last year's biggest losers.

And assets invested in hedge funds rose by $100 billion, to $1.43 trillion. That's the first quarterly jump in assets since the industry peaked at $1.93 trillion in second quarter 2008.

Capital withdrawals from hedge funds continued, but at a slower pace than in recent quarters. Investors took out $42.8 billion from hedge funds during the second quarter, or about 60% less than the prior quarter.