Many of the world’s largest hedge funds raked in comfortable double-digit returns in 2024 — benefiting from chaotic markets, central bank policy changes and a tight presidential election race.
The big winners included Dan Loeb’s New York-based Third Point, which posted a 28.7% return, Mets owner Steve Cohen’s Point72, which reported a 19% return, and a 15.1% gain by the flagship Wellington fund from Ken Griffin’s Citadel, according to several people with knowledge of the matter who were cited in reports by Bloomberg and Reuters on Friday.
All three multistrategy hedge funds exceeded the 10.7% average return this year through November, according to PivotalPath, versus 5.7% in the same period in 2023.
But some portfolio managers scored gains above 50% for 2024, thanks in large part to the so-called “Trump Trade.”
Light Street Capital’s long/short fund focused on technology ended 2024 up 59.4%. Overall, long/short hedge funds had their best year since 2020, Goldman Sachs said.
Macro hedge fund Discovery Capital ended 2024 up 52% after gains across equities, currencies, rates and credit, a source familiar with the performance said, with trades in both emerging and developed countries.
The Trump Trade — which shorted bonds, while going long on stocks and the dollar — helped London-based Rokos Capital Management post a 30.7% gain through Dec. 27, Bloomberg reported.
The huge returns came as the S&P 500 posted a 23% gain in 2024 — two years after a nearly 20% decline.
D.E. Shaw posted double-digit returns in two of its multistrategy funds. Its flagship Composite fund gained 18% in 2024, and its macro-oriented fund Oculus reported a 36% return – its best-ever annual performance, according to Reuters.
British hedge fund Marshall Wace, which manages about $71 billion, posted double-digit returns in several of its funds, a source told Reuters. The firm, which was co-founded by British financier Paul Marshall, returned about 14% in its Eureka fund, according to Reuters.
Longtime rival Izzy Englander’s Millennium Management returned 15% in 2024, the report said.
Bridgewater Associates’ flagship Pure Alpha volatility fund gained more than 11% in the year through Dec. 27, according to Reuters.
In 2023, Schonfeld’s New York-based flagship hedge fund Strategic Partners posted a measly 3% return. In a stark reversal, the $12 billion manager ended 2024 with a 19.7% gain.
Walleye Capital ended 2024 with a 1.8% gain in December, bringing its total returns for the year to 17.7%, according to Business Insider.
With Post wires
