Research from the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) raises questions over long-standing views on hedge fund operations. The In Sync research report is built upon the findings of a survey of 138 alternative investment fund managers with an estimated aggregate of $707 billion in assets under management.
For example, it’s commonly understood that hedge funds charge 2% management fee and 20% performance fee, commonly referred to as the “2&20 model”
According to the research, as of 2022, the average management fee is 1.39% and the average performance fee is 17.31%, with a wide dispersion when comparing the fees of larger and smaller managers.
Also: “Fund managers don’t use hurdle rates”. Again, AIMA’s In Sync research shows that half of fund managers use a hurdle rate, up from a third when last surveyed in 2019, with larger managers tending to use them more than smaller fund managers.
Moreover, there can sometimes be a view that fund managers don’t have enough “skin in the game”. The average investment of principals in their own fund is up from 6% in 2019, to 8% in 2023, according to the survey.