Ken Griffin’s long march toward his high-water mark slowed down last month.
His Chicago-based Citadel funds had modest gains in April, rising just 0.44 percent when the S&P 500 surged 2.85 percent.
For the year, Citadel is up 8.1 percent, and now lags the S&P, which is up about 9 percent for the year.
As a result, the funds are still about seven to 10 percentage points shy of their high-water mark. Then it will finally be able to charge a performance fee after losing 55 percent in 2008.
It is not clear how Citadel was positioned in April or why it lagged the overall market that month. In fact, SEC filings detailing equity holdings at the end of the March quarter are not due out for another week or so.
However, Citadel seems to be making a huge, leveraged bet on US equity-related securities. At year-end, he had about $19 billion in his US portfolio, according to SEC filings and other sources. However, his year-end assets under management were closer to $11 billion.
At year-end, his largest position was by far Apple, followed by Google and E-Trade Financial.
His largest new positions were in the junior preferred convertible subordinated securities issued by General Motors, as well as the common stock of Estee Lauder.
Last year Griffin celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the firm he launched at 22. In a letter sent to investors in late December, he warmly shared the inspiration he received from his grandmother — and one of his first investors – Genevieve Gratz, who had died earlier in the year at 98.
Griffin also offered four “simple lessons” he learned over the years: Hire the best people and create a culture of opportunity; take calculated risks; embrace opportunities; and never lose sight of what is important.
Perhaps he is most proud that since managing $4.6 million when he launched the firm, Citadel has delivered more than $10 billion in profits to investors.
