The flagship fund has dropped $2bn to have a total of $18bn under management, bringing total losses for the year to 18 per cent.

Much of the firm's poor performance was attributted to the changing rules governing trading in US markets. It also shows that huge hedge funds with billions under management are slow to adopt to a fast changing environment due to their size. Smaller funds are much more flexible and able to turn their positions within a shorter period of time. The larger ones are often reluctant or unable to close positions amid large stakes in relatively small and illiquid companies.