Ken Griffin’s flagship fund posted its best results in at least the past six years.
The multistrategy manager’s Wellington fund gained 2.3 percent in December, finishing 2019 up 19.4 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter. The performance is roughly in line with its 2013 gain, and stronger than other major multistrategy funds.
Last year’s results were driven by all five of the fund’s main strategies: equities, fixed income and macro, commodities, credit, and quantitative strategies, according to the person. December’s performance was led by commodities and fixed income, with all the firm’s strategies making money, the person said.
Wellington has compounded at 18.86 percent annually since its inception, more than double the 8.4 percent return posted by the S&P 500 index, according to the person. Of course, the S&P 500 is not a perfect benchmark to judge a multistrategy fund.
Citadel declined to comment.
The firm’s tactical trading, global equities, and fixed-income funds also produced gains in 2019.
Citadel Tactical Trading, an equities-oriented multistrategy fund, was up more than 20 percent last year, according to the person familiar with the matter. The performance was driven by its fundamental long-short and quantitative strategies, the person said, and has been profitable each year since its 2008 inception.
Citadel Global Equities, meanwhile, gained 8.5 percent in 2019, according to the person. The strategy invests in companies in the communications, consumer, energy, financials, healthcare, industrials, media and entertainment, and technology sectors, according to the firm. Citadel Fixed Income gained 5.5 percent in 2019, the person said.
Citadel, which this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is returning an estimated $6 billion in profits to investors, including outside and internal, according to the person familiar with the matter. Citadel currently manages about $30 billion.
Other multistrategy firms posted double-digit gains for the year.
Steven Cohen’s Point72, for example, gained 14.9 percent, according to a person who saw the results. Point72 declined to comment.
D. E. Shaw & Co.’s flagship multi-strategy fund, D. E. Shaw Composite Fund, gained 10.5 percent last year, according to a person familiar with the results. D. E. Shaw Oculus Fund, which the firm describes as a more macro-oriented multi-strategy fund, was up 11.8 percent in 2019, according to the person.
Composite and Oculus’ results were driven by positive returns in both systematic and discretionary investment strategies, the person said. Both funds have less than a 20 percent correlation to the S&P 500 since their inception.
Earlier this year, D.E. Shaw told investors it would return to them substantially all the net profits generated in 2019 in each fund.
Balyasny Asset Management’s Atlas Enhanced fund, meanwhile, was up 12 percent for the year, according to a person familiar with the results. Balyasny declined to comment.
Izzy Englander’s Millennium USA gained 9.75 percent last year, while ExodusPoint Capital Management was up 6.8 percent in 2019, according to people who saw the results. Millennium declined to comment, while ExodusPoint did not return a phone call seeking comment.