In 2023, even the best multi-strategy hedge funds trailed the broader stock market. Citadel led its peers with a 15.3% gain last year, but the S&P 500 notched a total return of 26.3%.
The first month of 2024 is in the books, and $56 billion Citadel is once again outperforming with a 1.9% gain in its flagship Wellington fund in January, according to people familiar with the results. The mult-strategy giant has tied for the top spot with Boothbay, the $2 billion firm run by Ari Glass.
The hedge funds are part of a handful to start the year ahead of the S&P, which was up 1.6% in January.
That includes Steve Cohen’s Point72, which gained 1.8%, and Schonfeld’s flagship Strategic Partners Fund. Schonfeld struggled to produce returns for most of 2023, culminating in layoffs this November and a campaign to secure a multi-billion dollar capital injection from investors. But performance rebounded the last couple months of the year.
In January, the leaner Schonfeld kept up the pace, returning an estimated 1.7% in its flagship fund, putting it toward the top of the pack to start the year, according to people familiar with the results. Its smaller Fundamental Equity fund returned 1.3%.
Here’s how other multi-strategy hedge funds performed in January:
The firms mentioned either declined to comment or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This post has been updated with additional information.