Why have hedge funds underperformed since 2008?

As above. I can think of the following reasons.

  • depressed interest rates fuelling indices - it's hard to compete against the S&P 500 when it's doing abnormally well
  • hedge funds are liquid - liquidity premium is expensive
  • hedge funds purportedly do well in market downturns as well as in bull markets
  • private equity funds require investors to lock up their capital. This is something that hedge funds don't require

My final question is - if hedge funds are doing so badly, why aren't their investors pulling all of their money? Yes, capital is being withdrawn, but not at a scary rate. Not at a rate that questions the existence of the hedge fund industry itself.

Would be interested to hear what all of you monkeys have to say.

1 Comments
 

Sed deleniti fugiat error error. Perspiciatis corporis animi laudantium et quisquam aut. Omnis ipsa minima maiores quo voluptatibus eligendi tempora. Quia deleniti enim illum soluta molestiae.

Aliquid quidem animi est sit rerum animi laudantium aut. Rem inventore illum consequatur repellat optio. Eum aut rerum qui voluptatem corporis omnis. Eos alias dolor nihil.

Culpa ab in eos natus et necessitatibus. Ipsum qui fugit qui explicabo atque possimus est corrupti. Doloribus ducimus expedita voluptatum vel.

Nisi tempore accusantium quis atque. Est et quod debitis perferendis molestiae qui accusamus et. Vitae modi aut accusantium quis aut odit. Facere laboriosam hic est autem. Corporis doloribus commodi ab ut qui eveniet. Et voluptas consequatur odit adipisci et ut quis hic.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Point72 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 97.0%
  • AQR Capital Management 96.0%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.0%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Magnetar Capital 99.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 98.0%
  • Blackstone Group 97.0%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.0%
  • Two Sigma Investments 94.9%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • AQR Capital Management 99.0%
  • Point72 98.0%
  • D.E. Shaw 97.1%
  • Citadel Investment Group 96.1%
  • Magnetar Capital 95.1%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Hedge Fund

  • Portfolio Manager (9) $1,648
  • Vice President (27) $464
  • Director/MD (11) $372
  • NA (9) $320
  • Engineer/Quant (83) $287
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (26) $284
  • Manager (4) $282
  • 2nd Year Associate (32) $253
  • 1st Year Associate (76) $193
  • Analysts (234) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (29) $145
  • Junior Trader (5) $102
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (276) $95
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”