Compensation soars for hedge fund managers

The wallets of hedge fund managers are looking fatter this year.

Total compensation for hedge fund portfolio managers is expected to climb 40 percent, to $1.4 million, in 2018, according to Institutional Investor’s second annual All-American Buy-Side Compensation Survey.

The hedgies on average reported a 25 percent jump in base pay — to $346,164 — and more than $1 million in variable compensation.

Portfolio managers at hedge funds with more than $5 billion in assets are feeling even more flush, as they are expected to earn $2.8 million in total compensation.

The big gains are due in part to bonuses for 2017 performance — when hedge funds returned 8.6 percent — being paid in 2018.

This year hasn’t been kind to hedgie portfolios, which are down 1.7 percent this year, according to a report by Hedge Fund Research Wednesday.

October was a particularly brutal month for hedge funds, as they suffered their worst month in seven years after plunging nearly 3 percent, HFR noted.

Nevertheless, Institutional Investor noted that hedgies were “broadly optimistic” about their future paychecks, even amid fears of an economic slowdown.