Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, speaks during The New York Times' annual DealBook Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 4, 2024 in New York City.
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Billionaire Ken Griffin's handful of hedge funds at Citadel all posted double-digit returns in 2024, led by his tactical trading strategy.
Citadel's largest multi-strategy fund, Wellington, ended the year up 15.1%, according to a person familiar with the returns. All five strategies used in the flagship fund – commodities, equities, fixed income, credit and quantitative strategies – were positive for the year, the person said.
The Miami-based firm's tactical trading fund was the best performer, returning 22.3% in 2024, the person said. Citadel's equity fund returned around 18%, while its global fixed income strategy gained 9.7% last year.
Citadel declined to comment. The hedge fund giant had $66 billion in assets under management as of December.
The stock market just completed a banner year with the S&P 500 rising 23.3%, following up a 24.2% gain in 2023. The two-year gain of 53% is the best since the nearly 66% rally in 1997 and 1998.
Griffin recently criticized the high tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump had promised to implement, saying cronyism could be a result.
The CEO also said that he is not focused on taking Citadel Securities public in the foreseeable future. The securities firm is a Miami-based market maker founded in 2002 by the 56-year-old Florida native.