Citadel Winner
$31 billion Citadel has long been a favorite with investors given its long track record and rigorous risk management process. The firm’s internal Risk Management Center is an industry leader in its construction and comprehensiveness. The risk team at Citadel is continuously updating its models and guardrails based on a stream of real-time information from its trading desks and the market. As a result, Citadel’s portfolio teams can act tactically without running afoul of risk controls. The firm’s predictive risk modeling gives the risk team and traders a sense for where markets are headed that few other funds have.

The firm’s flagship fund has weathered 2018’s volatility well and is up over 12% year-to-date at the time of this writing – making it an outlier among many mega funds that have found it difficult to capture the trend. Citadel’s ability to produce positive returns year over year has ensured that there is always a waiting list to join its funds.

Citadel is also aggressive in its talent acquisition and retention strategy, investing in investment competitions that draw some of the best and brightest soon-to-be-graduates and helping them grow into leadership roles once they are onboard full time.

As the firm moves ahead in 2019, Citadel plans to return capital from its Kensington and Wellington strategies, and will offer investors new opportunities to re-invest with the firm going forward.

Hedge Funds Finalists

• AQR

• Balyasny Asset Management

• Point72 Asset Management

• Two Sigma