Glossary › Performance fee

Performance fee: the manager’s share of the gains

A performance fee is a share of the fund’s increase in value that the manager receives on top of the management fee.

Explanation

Typical are 10 to 15% of the gain above a certain threshold, charged annually or quarterly. Two building blocks determine how fair the fee is: the hurdle rate, the minimum return above which it applies, and the high-water mark, which prevents the same recovery being charged again after losses.

With evergreen funds the performance fee is calculated on valuation gains, not on realised sales. If net asset value rises through revaluations, the fee is charged even if the gains are later not realised. Funds of funds often add a second layer: the performance share of the underlying funds (carried interest). The performance fee is not included in the ongoing costs of the key information document.

In the database

97 of the 139 active funds charge a performance fee, 34 do not. Where it is charged, the median is 12.5% of the gain above the threshold, ranging from 7.5% to 25%.

Lowest, middle and highest performance fee · as at 16 Oct 2026

• StepStone Private Credit ELTIF — Performance Fee 7.5%
• EQT Nexus ELTIF Infrastructure — Performance Fee 12.5%
• UniPrivatmarkt Infrastruktur ELTIF — Performance Fee 25%

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the chapter on ELTIF criticism · list: no performance fee · all terms in the glossary