Most hedge fund investors polled by Goldman Sachs plan to pull some cash from their current managers in the coming months, with the majority citing poor performance as the reason, according to results of a survey seen by Reuters.

Most hedge fund investors polled by Goldman Sachs plan to pull some cash from their current managers in the coming months, with the majority citing poor performance as the reason, according to results of a survey seen by Reuters.

The vast majority of that cash, which could amount to more than $100 billion, would likely go to another hedge fund manager who is delivering stronger returns, according to the survey of U.S. investors on their redemption plans.

Withdrawing money from hedge funds has long been a touchy topic in the secretive $3 trillion industry, with managers worrying that any whiff of client exits could trigger a run on their funds. Funds have varying deadlines for investors to submit redemption requests.

About 52 percent of the 163 investors polled by Goldman's Prime Brokerage unit said they plan to pull between 1 percent and 6 percent of their money from hedge funds, while 20 percent of the respondents said they would pull between 7 percent and 10 percent and another 2 percent said they planned to take out a quarter of their money. Twenty-one percent said they would leave their money in place.

About 66 percent of respondents said the biggest reason for withdrawing money was poor performance, with 82 percent of the investors saying they would reinvest the withdrawn money with another fund. Money that does not go back into hedge funds will go to cash or fixed income vehicles, the investors said.

A number of big-name funds have disappointed investors this year with sluggish performance due to tumbling tech stocks earlier in the year, failed mergers and falling oil prices.

Through the end of October, the average hedge fund had gained only 3 percent, according to Hedge Fund Research, lagging far behind the S&P 500 Index's approximate 11 percent gain. HFR's data for November is not yet available.

Some hedge funds have already told clients how they did last month, when many stocks rebounded. Eric Mindich's Eton Park, for example, gained 4.3 percent for the month, leaving the fund up 5.3 percent for the year, an investor said.

Daniel Loeb's flagship fund gained 2.9 percent last month, putting it up 9.1 percent for the year, another investor said.