Nandini Roy Choudhury, writer
Brief news
- Citadel’s hedge funds, managed by billionaire investor Ken Griffin, posted modest gains in August despite market volatility.
- Citadel’s multistrategy Wellington fund saw a 1% increase in August, bringing its year-to-date return to 9.9%.
- The tactical trading fund and equities fund of Citadel also experienced positive returns in August, with increases of 1.5% and 0.8% respectively.
Detailed news
The month of August was marked by volatility, as markets grappled with an emergent growth worry. Despite this, billionaire investor Ken Griffin’s suite of hedge funds at Citadel posted modest gains.
A person familiar with the returns, who spoke anonymously due to the confidentiality of the performance numbers, stated that Citadel’s multistrategy Wellington fund experienced a 1% increase in August, bringing its year-to-date return to 9.9%. The individual stated that the flagship fund’s five strategies—commodities, equities, fixed income, credit, and quantitative—were all positive for the month.
The tactical trading fund of the Miami-based company experienced a 1.5% increase in value last month and has now increased by 14.5% for the year. The 2024 returns of its equities fund, which employs a long/short strategy, increased by 0.8%, bringing them to 9.3%.
Citadel declined to provide a response. As of August 1, the hedge fund complex had approximately $63 billion in assets under management.
In August, volatility underwent a significant rebound as a result of a poor July employment report, which reignited concerns regarding imminent recession. The S&P 500 experienced its most severe day since September 2022 on August 5, when it declined by 3%. Nevertheless, the market promptly rebounded, resulting in a 2.3% increase in the equity benchmark at the end of August. The S&P 500 is currently ahead by over 15% in 2024.
The hedge fund community has recently transitioned to a defensive stance as macroeconomic uncertainty has increased. According to Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage data, hedge funds for the seventh consecutive week sold global equities on a net basis, with sales of financial and consumer staples stocks, as well as communication services.
Source : CNBC News
