By Amal Robleh
Despite widespread, if shallow, performance losses, the 241 largest hedge fund firms in the Americas—those managing $1 billion or more—increased their assets by 2.96% in 2011, to $1.335 trillion, according to AR’s biannual Billion Dollar Club survey.
More than 40% of the Billion Dollar Club firms lost assets in 2011, with the majority of the drop occurring in the second half of the year, which reversed a 7.86% asset gain in the first half. The AR Composite Index was up 2.05% through midyear 2011, but ended the year down 0.47%—its first annual loss since 2008. The past year’s 2.96% asset gain is the most tepid on record, falling beneath the 4.23% increase in 2009. The greatest annual growth for the Billion Dollar Club was in 2006, when assets increased by 40.8%.
Bridgewater Associates retained its...