Investing made Easy

The high-water mark (HWM) over equity presents the highest peak of the value an investment has achieved so far. The high-water mark model ensures that an investor would not pay any fees for a mediocre performance, but only if he/she is making money.

In other words, a high-water mark ensures that if the net asset value of the investor’s equity allocated to a specific strategy falls in the end of one investment period (e.g. a month) below the all-time high value reached by the strategy in the end of a previous period, the performance fee will not be charged. It will be charged again only when the respectively allocated investor’s equity (funds) reaches a new all-time high value in the end of a new investment period.

Example:

Point A

Let’s assume in the beginning of the month the starting equity is 1000 units. In the end of the first month (point A), equity is rising up to 1200 or we have 200 units profit. That point is marked as a high-water mark because it has reached the highest level of the equity and that is why for those 200 units profit, a performance fee should be paid.

Point B

This is the end of the second month and we have again equity rising from point A to point B. Based on the HWM principle, a performance fee should be paid based on the equity rising from point A to B, or the rising of equity between 1200 and 1400. As in the previous example, the performance fee should be paid over the 200 units.

Point C

In the end of the third month, equity has decreased, so no performance fee should be charged at all.

Point D

Despite that the all-time high was reached during the mid of the month, in the end of a four- month period, the equity is again down and still below the HWM at point B and equity of 1400 it reached a few months earlier. As before, a performance fee should not be charged.