The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Cerberus Capital Management's core hedge funds clients have opted to withdraw the majority of the money in the funds.

Clients owning more than $4bn of the $7.7bn in assets in the Cerberus Partners hedge funds have opted to liquidate their holdings, rather than allow Cerberus to collect its typical fees and continue making new investments, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Cerberus executives hope that some investors who have opted for withdrawals can be convinced to change their minds.

Investors had been told they had until this week to vote on the fate of their hedge-fund holdings, the paper said.