New figures highlight the concentration of AuM among the largest hedge fund players.

The global hedge fund industry oversaw as much as $3.16 trillion of assets by the end of March this year, according to Preqin, with $1 billion-plus funds forming 11 per cent of those funds across the globe and dominating AuM, showing the concentration of this industry by the biggest players.

The “$1 billion club” includes 570 managers out of a total of 5,122 single-manager hedge fund managers across the globe. But these firms command a total of $2.78 trillion of industry capital, which amounts to 92 per cent of the total assets in hedge funds, the research firm said.

Among other data points is the fact that 22 fund managers handle $20 billion or more in assets under management each, and collectively control $790 billion in assets. Members of the $1 billion club managing between $1 billion and $4.9 billion collectively control $892 billion in assets, or 28 per cent of entire industry assets.

At least 27 per cent of funds run by members of the club are equity strategies (41 per cent for managers with between $1.0 billion and $4.9 billion in assets). For managers with $20 billon or more in assets, almost a quarter of their funds are multi-strategy funds.

A large number of the biggest hedge funds have been around for more than two decades. For members with $20 billion or more in AuM, the average year of inception is 1992; for those with between $1.0 billion and $4.9 billion, the year is 2001, Preqin said.

The biggest firm is Bridgewater Associates with a total of $169.5 billion in assets under management. AQR Capital Management follows this with $64.9 billion in assets.