There are two ways to share profits when a hurdle rate is exceeded. A soft hurdle rate allows the general partner to share in all returns this far, whereas a hard hurdle rate allows the general partner to begin sharing from the hurdle rate. As an example, assume a fund has an 8% hurdle rate and has achieved a 16% cumulative return. A soft hurdle rate would allow the general partner to share in the full 16% return, while a hard hurdle rate would allow the general partner to share only in the excess 8% over the hurdle rate.