Ken Griffin’s Citadel Hedge Fund Gained 7.5% in April Even as Markets Tanked

(Bloomberg) -- Ken Griffin’s Citadel scored a 7.5% return for April in its main hedge fund even as U.S. stocks posted their worst performance in decades.

The $50 billion firm’s Wellington fund is up 12.7.% so far this year, making money in all five of its main strategies, according to a person familiar with the matter. The fund is market neutral, meaning its bullish wagers are matched with bearish ones with the aim of producing returns that are uncorrelated to markets. It’s also a multimanager, multistrategy platform with separate groups of traders who invest across assets classes and geographies. 

A spokesman for the firm declined to comment. 

The S&P 500 Index slid 8.8% last month marking the index’s worst April since 1970. The Nasdaq 100 Stock Index fell 14% for the biggest drop since 2008. And the fixed income benchmark tracking bonds worldwide declined more than 5%, the worst month since at least 1990.

Griffin’s fund joins David Einhorn’s in notching a strong gain despite the turbulence. The equity-focused Greenlight Capital returned 10.6% in April. 

Read more: Einhorn’s Greenlight Defies April’s Rout With 10.6% Gain

Like many funds during the pandemic, Citadel’s assets have soared. In January 2020, the firm managed $30 billion.

Here’s how all of the Citadel funds have performed:

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