Fund performance

The firm expects a second wave of opportunities, particularly in commercial mortgage-backed securities and collateralized loan obligations.

The poor showing may lead investors to question why they’re paying some of the highest fees in the money management industry.

CEO Larry Fink announced a new focus on ESG in January, however the coronavirus has pushed a separate set of urgent issues into the forefront.

“People are just saying, ‘Why should I pay for an active manager when most of them lose to the benchmark anyway?’ This is a big deal,” an expert says.

“I do believe that clients sometimes get too caught up in expense ratios,” an expert says.

“This market environment is a very good one for investors to do a self-awareness check,” an expert says.

Instead, the billionaire opted for a lucrative credit hedge that earned his firm about $2.6 billion in profits when the market plummeted.

“Ideally, you would like clients to try not to make really short-term decisions, however this is an unprecedented situation,” an expert says.

Flagship funds at Ken Griffin's firm had been down 5.3% through March 20 before things turned around.

The funds are also some of the lowest-duration products in the market.