Marshall Wace partners share 60m in profits

The six partners of Marshall Wace, one of the largest hedge fund managers in London, shared more than 60m last year after the group almost doubled its revenues to 88m (€128m).

Its partners, including founders Paul Marshall and Ian Wace, received profit share and pay of 63m in the year to August 2005, compared with under 31m the previous year, according to accounts filed at the UK's Companies House. Revenues at Marshall Wace jumped to 88.1m in the year ended August 31, 2005, according to the consolidated accounts of Marshall Wace LLP made available last week.

The partners transferred investment management activities from Marshall Wace Asset Management Limited to Marshall Wace LLP in October 2003. Accordingly, the comparable figure for the previous year comprised 25.2m recorded by Marshall Wace Asset Management Limited and 25.9m by Marshall Wace LLP.

The increase in income reflects the rise in assets under management, which rose from about $4bn (€3.1bn) in 2004 to about $7bn last year, making it one of Europe's 10 biggest hedge fund managers. A spokesman said the firm's assets had increased to almost $8bn. This is partly due to raising $300m last week with a further $200m of commitments for an Asian version of its Tops fund, which compares analysts' recommendations.

Marshall Wace plans to launch a global version of Tops this autumn.