Here’s How the Biggest Hedge Fund Managers Did in the First-Half
Here’s How the Biggest Hedge Fund Managers Did in the First-Half
(Bloomberg) -- It’s been the best start to a year for hedge funds in a decade, and the returns for the biggest multi-strategy money managers are in.
Ken Griffin, who runs the $30 billion hedge-fund firm Citadel, is beating his largest rivals, gaining 13.6% in the first six months of the year in his flagship funds, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Those funds, Kensington and Wellington, are market neutral -- so their bullish wagers are matched by bearish ones. All five of the strategies that feed into them made money over the period, said the person.
Multi-strategy hedge funds, on average, gained about 6% in the first six months of the year, according to Hedge Fund Research. The industry overall is reporting its best start to a year in a decade, gaining 5.7% in the period, HFR data show. The S&P 500 index jumped about 19% during that time, with dividends reinvested.
In June, Citadel’s Kensington and Wellington rose 0.9%, led by gains in fixed income and macro as well as commodities. The firm’s Tactical Trading fund, a separate multi-strategy fund that employs equity and quantitative strategies, gained 1% in June, bringing year-to-date returns to about 12%, said the person. Citadel’s multi-manager platform counts on small teams of traders to manage money independently from one another.
After boasting the biggest hedge-fund startup ever, Michael Gelband’s performance has been underwhelming so far this year. His ExodusPoint Capital Management gained 3.3% in the first half, a person said. The one-time heir apparent to Millennium Management founder Izzy Englander is now trailing his former employer by about 1 percentage point. Carlson Capital’s Double Black Diamond fund is up just 1.7% after losing money in June.
Here’s how some of the biggest multi-strategy funds are faring, according to filings and people with knowledge of the matter.
| Firm | June | 1H 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Citadel | 0.9% | 13.6% |
| Och-Ziff Capital Management | 2.3% | 11.9% |
| Point72 Asset Management | 0.5% | 9.2% |
| Balyasny Asset Management | -0.04% | 7.8% |
| D.E. Shaw | 1.3% | 6% |
| Millennium Management | 0.8% | 4.5% |
| Elliott Management | 2.6% | 4.2% |
| ExodusPoint Capital Management | 0.3% | 3.3% |
| HBK Capital Management | 1.4% | 3% |
| Carlson Capital | -0.7% | 1.7% |
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group Inc. is also having a banner year. Its $9 billion flagship fund surged almost 12% in the first half -- the best start to a year since 2009.
D.E. Shaw & Co.’s $14 billion composite fund jumped about 6% in the period, while Paul Singer’s $34 billion Elliott Management returned 4.2%.
Representatives for all of the firms declined to comment.
--With assistance from Hema Parmar.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katia Porzecanski in New York at kporzecansk1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Mirabella at amirabella@bloomberg.net, Melissa Karsh, Josh Friedman
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