Tudor Investment Corp., one of the oldest and most expensive hedge funds, is trimming fees as the finance industry’s highest-paid money managers face a growing backlash over their lackluster performance.
The $11.6 billion firm, run by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, will reduce fees for a share class that contains most of its biggest fund’s money to 2.25 percent of assets and 25 percent of profits, starting July 1, according to a letter sent to clients on Monday and obtained by Bloomberg. The fees were 2.75 percent and 27 percent.
“Funds underperforming for two, three sequential years will be vulnerable to fee-cutting pressure,” said Peter Rup, chief investment officer at New York-based Artemis Wealth Advisors, which oversees $900 million for clients. “This is another shake out we are seeing in the industry.”
Tudor, which suffered about $1 billion in client withdrawals last quarter and posted losses this year, is making the changes after remaining clients pushed for lower fees, according to two people familiar with the matter. While the firm still charges more than most peers, the concessions highlight a changing balance of power in the industry, which has come under attack from investors and rival money managers.
China Investment Corp., the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, said it was disappointed by the industry’s performance for the fees charged. The $187 billion California State Teachers’ Retirement System said the hedge-fund fee model is “broken.”
Tudor is also introducing a new pool for clients with $50 million in investments or more that will charge 2 percent of assets and 25 percent of profits. The firm is keeping fees for the main fund’s oldest share class unchanged at 4 percent of assets and 23 percent of profits.
Hedge fund managers, which are among the highest paid in finance, traditionally have charged clients 2 percent of assets and 20 percent of performance.
Macro Struggles
Tudor, which veteran macro-economic trader Jones, 61, started in 1980, is among the many macro hedge funds that have posted lackluster returns since the global financial crisis. Tudor’s main BVI Global macro fund, which makes bets on broad economic trends by trading everything from currencies to commodities, has lost 2.6 percent for clients this year through May 13, according to an investor report. The fund’s oldest share class for that fund has dropped 3 percent.
Patrick Clifford, a spokesman for Tudor, declined to comment on the cut in fees.