NEW YORK, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Hedge funds posted in 2022 their worst performance since 2018, mainly dragged down by equities as portfolio managers struggled to place their bets amid market turmoil, industry data provider HFR said on Monday.

Overall, hedge funds fell 4.25% last year, according to the HFRI 500 Fund Weighted Composite Index, which tracks many of the biggest global hedge fund performances. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl, in New York Editing by Chris Reese)