The pace of hedge fund liquidations has decelerated.

The number of hedge fund that were liquidated fell to 291 in the first three months of 2016. Closures fell from 305 in the prior quarter but still represented a sharp year-over-year increase from the 217 liquidations in the first quarter of 2015, according to Hedge Fund Research, the Chicago-based firm.

New hedge fund launches totalled 206 in the first quarter, up from 183 the prior quarter, but down from the 264 new funds that began a year earlier, HFR said.

In the trailing 12 months, 910 funds have launched while 1,053 have liquidated. At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the total number of active single-manager hedge funds was 8,430, down from the Q3 2015 record level of 8,566; total capital under management fell to $2.86 trillion over the same period. European-located management firms led in both fund launches and liquidations, accounting for 120 launches and 187 liquidations in the first quarter of 2016.