Another lesson from the crisis being addressed by hedge fund managers, as well as super funds, is counterparty risk. The prime brokers who handled a range of business for hedge fund managers have recently come under attack from the big custodians, in particular.

Matt Unsworth, head of Australian equities for Merrill Lynch, said that prime brokers might take on a differ- ent look in the future. But their central premise would remain to provide solu- tions across a range of services rather than just “the cheap liquidity of the past”.