Hedge fund charity falls again
The extent to which the financial crisis has taken its toll on altruism was highlighted last night when the Robin Hood Foundation, the hedge fund industry's best-known charity, took $45m (€33m) in ordinary donations at its annual gala dinner last night, a drop on the previous year's takings for the second year in a row.
The charity took $17.3m from ticket sales - seats at table were sold for up to $5,000 each - and $27.7m in donations, according to Bloomberg. This total of $45m compares with $57m last year and $71m the year before, a record amount.
In addition to these ordinary donations, billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros pledged $50m to the foundation, contingent on it raising another $150m over the next two years. This is more than the foundation has raised in any previous two-year period.
Hedge fund managers generally have less cash to spend than they did two years ago, because the size of their assets have fallen as a result of client redemptions and most of them failed to generate positive returns last year, meaning they did not earn performance fees.
However, hedge funds have made money for their investors this year, being up 4.2% on average for the first four months, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research. Fund administrators said managers were beginning to see net inflows from clients again.
The Robin Hood Foundation, which focuses on fighting poverty in New York City, was unavailable for comment.
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