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Long Slide in Hedge-Fund Fees Leaves the ‘2 and 20’ Model on the Ropes

Long Slide in Hedge-Fund Fees Leaves the ‘2 and 20’ Model on the Ropes

(Bloomberg) -- Hedge-fund performance may be looking up this year, but the fees they command from investors are dwindling under pressure from less costly asset managers.

The average management fee charged by new hedge funds globally in the first half of this year slipped to 1.2% from 1.6% in 2007, before the financial crisis battered the industry, according to a report from Eurekahedge. Fees linked to performance fell to about 14.5%, leaving funds overall well below the “two and 20” fee model once considered standard.

Years of poor performance have led many investors to seek out less expensive alternatives. Hedge funds reported the best first half in a decade this year as managers capitalized on the surge in stocks, but the 5.7% gain across the industry paled in comparison with the S&P 500 Index, which returned almost 19% in the period. And it came after hedge funds delivered their worst performance since 2011 last year.

While more than half of hedge-fund assets worldwide are managed by firms with a performance fee of at least 20%, managers who charge less have boosted their market share to 41.3% of industry assets in June from 16.3% at the end of 2008, according to the report published on Tuesday.

The “asymmetric” nature of performance fees -- hedge fund managers share in their clients’ profits, but not their losses -- have contributed to the pressure from investors to charge less, said Mohammad Hassan, head analyst of hedge fund research and indexation at Eurekahedge.

“The point that’s being made is that when the fund is performing well, they will pay,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ali Ingersoll in London at aingersoll1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Suzy Waite

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.