JWM Partners, a hedge fund set up by John Meriwether in 1999, told investors it will lose four partners and cut staff after the performance of its flagship fund plummeted this year.

JWM Partners was founded by Meriwether after his previous hedge fund, Long-Term Capital Management, had to accept a $3.6bn (€2.6bn) bailout by US banks in 1998 after it ran aground with highly leveraged trading strategies.