Tough Times Ground Hedge Fund High-Fliers

The recent market turmoil has taken a good deal of the shine off of hedge funds, as managers are unable to reproduce their heretofore exemplary results in poor market conditions, the New York Times reports. The average hedge fund lost 4% this year, the worst overall results in the industry’s short history, and 2008 has seen some high-profile collapses.

Only $30 billion in new money has been invested in hedge funds in the first half of this year, from $118 billion in the first 6 months of 2007. And the large pension funds and university endowments that blew up the industry fivefold in the past decade are warier of investing in hedge operations. "It’s been a bloodbath,” says one hedge-fund tracker. Expect bonuses to take a hit this year, as managers see further lean times ahead.
(More hedge fund stories.)