Walleye Capital and other multistrategy hedge funds produced steady returns last month despite whiplash in global markets and speculation about a possible U.S. recession.
Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management gained about 1.6% in August, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the numbers are private. Schonfeld Strategic Partners, Citadel Wellington and ExodusPoint Capital Management each returned about 1%, while Millennium Management rose about 0.7%, the people said.
Walleye’s $4.8 billion Opportunities Fund advanced 3.4%, leading multistrategy peers.
The returns were generated amid a wild swing in markets from Tokyo to New York triggered by a rapid unwinding of the yen carry trade and jitters over the U.S. economy — with Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” the Cboe Volatility index, or VIX, spiking to an unprecedented level during a sell-off in early August. Markets bounced back later in the month.
Bobby Jain’s new hedge fund didn’t fare as well as more-established peers. Jain Global lost 0.5% last month and worsened its decline since its July debut to about 1.2%, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.
The drop reflects the impact of the fund’s expenses — with only a portion of its traders deploying cash and others waiting to start for reasons including their sit-out periods.
The tough trading conditions last month spurred Millennium, Balyasny Asset Management and BlueCrest Capital Management to liquidate some traders’ positions or even close trading pods.
Walleye made money every week to lead peers in August, with its long/short equity and quant strategies contributing the most to gains.
Spokespeople for the firms declined to comment.
Here’s a look at last month’s returns:
