Boston Globe- Carl Icahn has hit the roughest patch of his hedge fund career.

His $7.9 billion in hedge funds fell 7 percent between October and April, the biggest peak-to-trough loss since the funds opened in November 2004, according to investors. That compares with an average annual return on his investments of 53 percent from 1996 to mid-2004.

Icahn has lost money on cellular-phone maker Motorola Inc., his biggest investment. The 72-year-old billionaire also failed to persuade executives at Yahoo Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc. to take his advice for boosting their stock.

While falling equity markets and the slowing economy are beyond Icahn’s command, the setbacks at Yahoo and Biogen Idec don’t bode well for his future as an activist shareholder, said Brett Barth, a partner at New York-based BBR Partners, which has invested $1 billion in hedge funds.

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