Investors pulled a net $1.6 billion from SkyBridge Multi-Adviser Hedge Fund Portfolios in the year ended March 31, according to a filing this month with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It marks the first time in a decade that outflows for a fiscal year exceeded inflows at the $5.4 billion fund, created as a vehicle for the mass affluent to invest with star managers otherwise beyond their reach.

The question is whether the decline is a blip or part of a trend at the fund-of-funds, which served as a growth machine for founder Anthony Scaramucciand colleagues since he acquired it from Citigroup Inc. in 2010. While theSkyBridge portfolio’s assets increased tenfold over the ensuing five years,most fund-of-funds were shrinking, reflecting investor weariness withmultiple layers of fees and underperformance across the hedge-fundindustry.

“Some of the largest funds very much became survivors,” said Brian Reich, the president of Atrato Advisors, a New York-based firm that provides research and other services to hedge-fund investors. “I would countSkyBridge among them,” he said, adding that the firm is known for its investing acumen. […]