The hedge fund industry in New York City is almost three times the size of that in London, according to Preqin.

It is no surprise that New York and London are the world’s two largest centres for hedge fund activity but the $629 billion difference in assets managed by these two cities - the amount by which New York dwarfs London - may well be.

New York City hedge fund managers had a total of $1.024 trillion in assets under management as of the end of 2014, making up over a third of global hedge fund assets and almost triple the $395 billion held by London-based managers, according to a new report by Preqin, a provider of data, analysis and intelligence services to the alternative assets industry.

Despite this, London’s Man Investments, which manages a total of $50 billion in hedge fund assets, was identified as the largest individual fund manager based in the two cities. In New York, the top hedge fund manager by assets under management is Och-Ziff Capital Management, with $46.8 billion, according to the data.

Equity strategies were dominant in both New York and London, taking a respective 42 per cent and 38 per cent share of core hedge fund strategies offered. Correspondingly, half of New York City-based hedge fund investors seek long/short equity strategies over the next year, while 52 per cent in London seek equities strategies.

In terms of the breakdown of hedge fund investors by type, funds of hedge fund managers are top of the list in both New York and London, accounting for 31 per cent and 24 per cent respectively. When looking at fund terms and conditions, hedge funds in both cities on average charge above the global mean management fee of 1.56 per cent. London-based hedge funds, however, charge a mean performance fee of 18.55 per cent, which is under the global average of 19.16 per cent. This compares to an average of 19.65 per cent charged by New York-based managers.