Days after reporting some of the industry’s deepest losses, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson said investors should stick with managers for the long term and reminded a conference audience that he had made billions in the past.

People who heard the remarks in Las Vegas on Wednesday said Paulson barely touched on the losses that his long-standing bet on gold and gold miners had inflicted on several of his portfolios, including a small fund which has lost 47 per cent this year.