Hedge fund managers with at least $1 billion in assets under management control $2.75 trillion of the total $3.13 trillion held by worldwide hedge fund managers, a Preqin report said.
Of the 668 managers in Preqin's database that it shows have at least $1 billion in AUM, a net 98 managers were new to the group in 2015. The members of the $1 billion club make up 12% of all hedge fund managers but control 88% of overall assets under management, down from 92% of all AUM in 2014.
Overall assets for hedge fund managers were down from $3.16 trillion in 2014, while the overall AUM for the $1 billion club was down from $2.78 trillion.
Of those managers with at least $1 billion in AUM, 54% had net inflows in the first quarter of 2016, the highest percentage of any fund size, while 9% had no change in assets and 37% had losses for the quarter.
“With the number of managers exceeding $1 billion in AUM increasing, the $1 billion club continues to control a substantial proportion of the hedge fund industry's assets,” said Amy Bensted, Preqin's head of hedge fund products, in a news release. “Newly established firms (whose employees) can demonstrate a strong pedigree at other $1 billion club firms have entered the club by obtaining large capital commitments from day one, while more established firms have gained access through asset growth.”
Five firms that were established in 2015 already have exceeded $1 billion, most notably according to Preqin the firm Systematica Investments, which spun off from BlueCrest Capital Management before the latter firm converted to a family office.
Among the largest hedge fund managers — those with at least $20 billion in AUM — 21% employ equity strategies, while 20% manage multistrategy funds.
For multistrategy funds among all hedge fund managers, the 20% usage rate by those giant managers was the highest. For example, among managers with between $10 billion and $20 billion, only 14% use multistrategies.
