Another big year for billionaire Ken Griffin and Citadel has extended the lead the Miami-based money manager has over its peers.
While Citadel didn’t reach the lofty heights it hit in 2022 — when it made the most-ever for investors of any hedge fund in a single year, according to data from LCH Investments — the $56 billion firm still generated $8.1 billion in gains last year.
It brought the firm’s all-time gains to $74 billion, close to $20 billion more than the two firms tied for second all-time, D.E. Shaw and Millennium. The two firms have generated $56.1 billion in profits since they launched, according to the rankings.
The Miami-based manager overtook billionaire Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater in the all-time rankings last year when it recorded $16 billion in profits for investors. Bridgewater’s tough year — its Pure Alpha fund was up for most of the year until bond prices jumped in the fourth quarter, causing the strategy to fall 7.6% in 2023, Bloomberg reported — dropped the Connecticut-based firm to fourth all-time.
LCH Investments, a fund-of-funds that’s a part of Edmond de Rothschild, published its annual ranking of hedge funds based on the gains they generated in the previous year and since inception Monday.
In an internal memo titled “Citadel Widens Lead as Most Profitable Hedge Fund of All Time,” Griffin wrote, “We not only retained the #1 ranking, but we also more than doubled our lead over our closest competitors in the past year.”
He congratulated the firm on what he called “a challenging year overall for multi-strategy managers.” While Citadel beat out its peers, with a 15.3% gain in its Wellington fund, there were plenty of smaller peers that notched single-digit returns for their investors despite the S&P 500 surging 24%.
Citadel confirmed the contents of the memo but declined to comment further.
Read below for the full memo:
Colleagues, I am incredibly proud to share that Citadel has once again topped LCH Investments’ list of the most profitable hedge funds of all time. We not only retained the #1 ranking, but we also more than doubled our lead over our closest competitors in the past year. This is a particularly remarkable accomplishment in what was a challenging year overall for multi-strategy managers. Our leading position among hedge funds reflects our relentless focus on delivering superior returns to our capital partners, which include many of the preeminent research institutions, universities, and healthcare organizations around the world. While this news is another important milestone in the history of Citadel, I am confident that the best chapters of our story still lie ahead. I look forward to writing them together with all of you. With deep appreciation, Kenneth C. Griffin Founder & Chief Executive Officer
