The world’s largest publicly-quoted hedge fund manager, Man Group, has recorded only $94m of performance fee income in the nine months to the end of December, compared with $203m in the whole of 2010, as many of its funds have failed to regain their previous highs.

Hedge fund managers such as Man Group do not charge their clients performance fees until they have made good any losses they gave those clients, in a process known as "regaining the high water mark". Although any new clients will be charged performance fees for any gains, the existing clients will not, for as long as a fund remains below its high water mark.