Hedge Funds Kept $1.8 Trillion as Fees, or Half Their Gains (1)

Hedge funds have long been regarded as notoriously expensive. New research reveals just how costly they truly are for their clients.

Of the $3.7 trillion in profits they have earned as an industry since 1969, nearly half or a staggering $1.8 trillion was gobbled up as fees, according to estimates by LCH Investments, a fund of hedge funds. With soaring assets, hedge funds have raised their charges to 50.4% of gains, up from the roughly 30% they earned until the early 2000s.

This is the first time LCH has ever quantified the high expenses that have become the bedrock ...