The figures are more than almost anyone will earn in a lifetime, but 2018 wasn’t a particularly good year for the industry. Closures outnumbered launches in 2018 for the third year in a row, according to Eurekahedge, and investors continue to pressure managers to cut their fees.
This year is shaping up to be an improvement over 2018. The average fund returned 2.1 percent in January, according to the Hedge Fund Research index. Citadel’s Griffin is again beating peers with its Wellington fund advancing 3.6 percent last month. Element, now managing $18 billion, saw a 3.5 percent jump in its main fund.
To compile the ranking, Bloomberg broke out “total income” figures to show estimates of dividend income and return on personal assets. Dividend income is our calculation of the share of performance fees that the manager takes home as owner of the hedge fund. Return on personal assets is our estimate of how much managers earned on their own cash invested in their funds.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.