Catch two-and-twenty FROM The Economist

But suppose that every institution handed its portfolio to hedge-fund managers. The average fund manager cannot earn more than the market. After costs, he must earn less. An individual pension fund or endowment might succeed in its search for higher returns. But because hedge funds and private-equity fees are higher than normal—often a 2% annual fee and a 20% performance fee—the effect of the shift would be to lower the average return of investors, not increase it. A “catch two-and-twenty” is at work.