Primarily, hedge funds adhere to a compensation structure with two essential layers. This formula includes a 2 percent charge for the investment talent running the fund. This is known as a management fee. Investors are also charged a 20 percent fee for the investment performance of the fund. Hedge fund managers must continue to improve a fund's performance, or sacrifice the performance fee. There are ways, however, for a fund manager to recapture lost performance fees.
Management
Hedge funds typically assess a 2 percent management fee to pay for trading expenses and other logistical costs. The percentage is tied to the amount of capital that an investor has under management at a particular fund. This modest layer of fees is designed to attract a greater number of investors to the fund. However, funds could grow so large that the portfolio size interferes with a professional manager's ability to successfully run the fund. Subsequently, certain funds eventually stop accepting new investors.
Performance
Much of a hedge fund's compensation structure is tied to the investment performance of the fund. Fund managers assess a performance fee of approximately 20 percent of returns earned for investors. To avoid charging investors more than once for the same returns, hedge funds do not charge performance fees when an investment fund loses ground. Once the fund surpasses the highest point it previously achieved, which is known as a high water mark, performance fees can once again be charged.
Bonus
Bonuses at the end are not a sure thing for hedge fund managers. Less than 20 percent of hedge fund managers are assured a year-end bonus, according to the Hedge Fund Compensation Report cited on PR Web. Of those who are entitled to a yearly bonus, more than 10 percent reinvest at least a portion of those earnings back into the hedge fund. Hedge funds can use this practice as a motivational tool so portfolio managers have an even more vested interest in the fund's performance.
Investors
Investors do not always feel that the high compensation structure at hedge funds is warranted. When the markets are clearly moving in one direction, for instance, the argument for paying high fees to hedge fund managers weakens. Market volatility, however, increases the value of professional hedge fund managers who are trained to navigate choppy market waters. In the first eight months of 2011, hedge funds returned approximately 3 percent, which is modest. Given that losses unfolded in the broader stock market over the same period, hedge funds won over investors despite high fees.
References
- "The New York Times"; Some Hedge Funds, To Stay Nimble, Reject New Investors; Azam Ahmed; September 2011
- PRWeb; Hedge Fund Compensation Report Uncovers Big Performance And Bonuses in Store ; January 2011
- Bloomberg; Wealthy Investors Stick To Hedge Funds Even With 3.4 Percent Returns; Alexis Leondis; September 2011
- SEC. "Implications of the Growth of Hedge Funds," Page 32. Accessed Nov. 6, 2019.
- Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. "The Activism of Carl Icahn and Bill Ackman." Accessed Jan. 9, 2020.
- Ican Enterprises. "Board of Directors." Accessed Nov. 7, 2019.
- Congress. "H.R.3606 - Jumpstart Our Business Startups." Accessed Nov. 6, 2019.
- SEC. "Hedge Funds – A New Era of Transparency and Openness." Accessed Nov. 6, 2019.
- SEC. "Proposing Amendments to Private Offering Rules." Accessed Nov. 7, 2019.
Writer Bio
Geri Terzo is a business writer with more than 15 years of experience on Wall Street. Throughout her career, she has contributed to the two major cable business networks in segment production and chief-booking capacities and has reported for several major trade publications including "IDD Magazine," "Infrastructure Investor" and MandateWire of the "Financial Times." She works as a journalist who has contributed to The Motley Fool and InvestorPlace. Terzo is a graduate of Campbell University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication.