Ken Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel, speaks at the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference sessions at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on May 6, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Billionaire investor Ken Griffin's Citadel hedge fund group eked out small gains in what turned out to be a volatile month in August as markets grappled with fears about emerging growth.
Citadel’s Wellington multi-strategy fund gained about 1% in August, bringing its year-to-date return to 9.9%, according to a person familiar with the returns, who spoke anonymously because the performance figures are private. All five strategies used in the flagship fund — commodities, equities, fixed income, credit and quantitative — were positive during the month, the person said.
The Miami-based firm's tactical trading fund rose 1.5% last month and is up 14.5% for the year. Its stock fund, which uses a long/short strategy, rose 0.8%, bringing its 2024 return to 9.3%.
Citadel declined to comment. The hedge fund complex had about $63 billion in assets under management as of Aug. 1.
Volatility returned with a vengeance in August as recession fears were reignited following a weak July jobs report. On August 5, the S&P 500 fell 3%, its worst day since September 2022. Still, the market quickly recovered, and the equity benchmark closed August up 2.3%. The S&P 500 now has a lead of more than 15% going into 2024.
Overall, the hedge fund community recently adopted a defensive mode as macroeconomic uncertainty increased. Hedge funds sold global equities for the seventh consecutive week, driven by sales of communication services, financial and consumer staples stocks, according to Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data.