Marshall Wace partners share £538m payday as turnover at £50bn fund slumps
According to accounts filed at Companies House, the UK partners of Marshall Wace, the $63bn (£50bn) hedge fund, shared profits of more than £538m last year, nearly double the amount earned by British hedge fund manager Sir Chris Hohn.
Wace, set up by Paul Marshall and Ian Wace in 1997 with $50m (£40m), and seed capital from hedge fund legend George Sorors, has been a leader in so-called computerized or algorithmic trading.
The Financial Times recently reported its Marshall’s Eureka fund, which accounts for about a third of the firm’s assets, has returned 11.9 per cent per annum since its launch in 1997.
According to accounts filed for Marshall Wace LLP over the weekend, the hedge fund’s partners shared £538m of profits last year, although turnover fell from £1.5bn to £1.2bn. Partnership profits also declined by around a quarter, falling from £722m.
The accounts detail 26 UK partners, including Marshall Wace Asset Management Limited, although the FT has noted the fund has 33 partners globally.
Although they founded the firm, Marshall and Wace are no longer its biggest owners. It is understood that KKR, the US private equity giant, holds 40 per cent, and as such is entitled to the majority of partnership profits.
According to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, both of the firm’s founders have personal fortunes of £800m each, built up from their substantial holdings in the funds.