At the end of last year, when about a quarter of funds limited withdrawals through various means, one investor told Financial News: “It’s my money, they have to give it back.”

Unfortunately managers did not have to, thanks to hitherto unused provisions in the documents of their fund. But now most managers are seeking money to fill depleted portfolios, and investors are calling the shots and reinventing their side of the $1.4 trillion (€981bn) industry in the process.