Profits at Marshall Wace, one of London's oldest and most established hedge funds, more than halved as performance fees dived by two-thirds in the 12 months to the end of February.

The $34bn Belgravia-based long-short equities specialist, which was founded 20 years ago by chairman and chief investment officer Paul Marshall and chief executive and chief risk officer Ian Wace, had enjoyed a record year in the prior 12-month period as performance fees surged, pushing revenues past £500m.