New York (HedgeCo.Net) – When you state that 25 managers earned $11.6 billion last year it would seem like an incredible year, but not when you are talking about the top 25 hedge fund managers. The annual report from Institutional Investor magazine showed that the $11.6 billion earned by the top 25 managers is comparable to what the top managers made in 2008 when the world was enveloped by the financial crisis.

If you divide the total up, the average revenue of the 25 managers is approximately $467 million per manager. When you compare that figure to the $846 million average from 2013, you could say that 2014 was a disappointing year.
Part of the reason for the drop in compensation can be attributed to the performance of hedge funds against the overall market. The average hedge fund returned 3.78% in 2014 according to Preqin, an industry research firm.

Part of the decline in hedge fund manager compensation could also be attributed to an increase in alternative investment solutions. The growth in liquid alternatives has been phenomenal and platforms such as HedgeCoVest are also forcing hedge fund managers to reconsider they fee structure. Even with that being said, the top managers still did quite well for themselves.

The top 10 hedge fund managers in terms of compensation for 2014:
1. Kenneth Griffin, Citadel ($1.3 billion)
2. James Simons, Renaissance Technologies ($1.2 billion)
3. Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates ($1.1 billion)
4. Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management ($950 million)
5. Israel Englander, Millennium Management ($900 million)
6. Michael Platt, BlueCrest Capital Management ($800 million)
7. Larry Robbins, Glenview Capital Management ($570 million)
8. David Shaw, D.E. Shaw Group ($530 million)
9. O. Andreas Halvorsen, Viking Global Investors ($450 million)
10. Charles Coleman III, Tiger Global Management ($425 million)