Ken Griffin’s Wellington hedge fund posted a 1% gain in August

Billionaire investor Ken Griffin’s hedge fund suite at Citadel posted small gains in what proved a volatile month in August as markets grappled with an emerging growth scare.

Citadel’s Wellington multi-strategy fund gained about 1 percent in August, bringing its year-to-date return to 9.9 percent, according to a person familiar with the returns, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the performance figures are private. All five strategies used in the flagship fund — commodities, equities, fixed income, credit and quantitative — were positive for the month, the person said.

The Miami-based firm’s tactically traded fund rose 1.5 percent last month and is up 14.5 percent from a year earlier. Its equity fund, which uses a long/short strategy, rose 0.8%, pushing its 2024 yield 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 strongly in August as recession fears were reignited by a weak July jobs report. On August 5, the S&P 500 fell 3%, its worst day since September 2022. However, the market quickly recovered, with the benchmark stock index ending August up 2.3%. The S&P 500 is now ahead more than 15% in 2024.

In general, the hedge fund community has recently gone into a defensive mode as macroeconomic uncertainty has increased. Global equity hedge funds sold net for a seventh straight week recently, driven by sales in communications services, financials and consumer staples, according to data from prime brokerage Goldman Sachs.