This year’s hedge-fund shindig ‘low energy’ as industry swoons

LAS VEGAS — Working at♕ a hedge fund isn’t the party it used to be.

The annual Skybridge Alternatives Conference for hedge fu🌌nds, known as SALT, was lavish as ever, with free-flowing booze, a roster of guests like Joe Biden, David Cameron and Mike Tyson, and a late-night concert from Duran Duran.

Nevertheless, several attendees noted tha𝐆t SALT this year was somehow “low energy” — and they weren’t just talking about former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who spoke at the event on Friday.

Indeed, SALT founder Anthony Scaramucci didn’t seem quite as ubiquitous and bright-eyed as he did at last year’s event. More than once, “The Mooch” spoke of dusting himself off after his promised White House gig🐼 did not “꧟materialize.”

Meanwhile, Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital admitted that he has something to prove after years of negative returns, and — in a suℱrprise appearance Friday — Jon Corzine admitted feeling “remorse” of the blowup💖 of his fund MF Global in 2011.

It was telling that sightings of onetime kingpin Stevie Cohe꧂n lurking the hallways created more buzz than most of the speakers — despite the fact Cohen remains barred from the industry until next yea🌜r under a settlement with securities regulators.

Carlyle Group chief David Rube🐠nstein played the cheerleader as usual, saying Thursday that there is $1.4 trillion in “dry powder” itchiꦫng to get into alternatives in search of double-digit returns. But even his colleagues weren’t buying the enthusiasm.

After ye🅰ars of subpar returns, the hedge fund industry has slowly been reducing its usual “2 and 20” model in which funds collect 2 percent of assets under management and 20 percent of profits.

Hedge fund fees “are coming down but they’re still too high,” noted short-se🐷ller Jim Chanos said in a Thursday afternoon session.

Ackman, whose own fund adjusted fees amid years of subpar returns, echoed Chanos’ statements, saying you can’t take 20 percent﷽ of profits when you’re only getting five or eight p🥀ercent.

Returns at Ackman’s fund🔜 last year, by the way, we🦩re down more than 13 percent.

“When you have 10 middle-ag⭕ed white guys looking at things, there’s better than a 50/50 chance it’s going to be a screw-up,” Jeb Bush said to a predominantly middle-aged white male audience at a session Friday.

The failed presiden﷽tial candidate’s comments were in response to the al🔯l-male work group drawing up the health care reform bill in Washington, DC. But he just as easily could have been talking about hedge funds.