Toscafund boss feels the pinch as revenues and profits tumble
MARTIN HUGHES, the hedge fund manager nicknamed “the rottweiler” for his aggressive trading tactics, saw his pay drop steeply for the second year in a row in 2009.
Profits at Hughes’ asset management firm, Toscafund, fell by two thirds to £9.2m in the 12 months to December, with revenues halving to £15.4m. Toscafund was hit hard by collapsing investor confidence during the financial crisis and saw its asset base fold by half to around £2.6bn as clients pulled money out.
Although outflows have now been stemmed, the highest paid member last year – likely to be Hughes – received £2.4m, 84 per cent less than in 2008 and far below the bumper packet of £75m handed out in the boom year of 2007.
In accounts, Toscafund’s directors wrote: “[We] are satisfied with the group’s performance in the year in which the impact of the worldwide financial crisis that began in 2008 continued to be felt. The performance of the financial markets, as well as the partnership itself, recovered during 2009 and despite the fact a full recovery is still some months away, [we] are confident the partnership has a strong future.”