Hedge fund titans soar as the industry’s elite land record gain
The world’s 20 best-performing hedge fund firms delivered a record-breaking $115.8 billion in net gains for clients last year, as industry titans including Citadel, Millennium and Bridgewater Associates once again outgunned smaller rivals. The landmark haul helped propel the broader $5.2 trillion industry to its biggest-ever annual dollar gain, at a collective $543 billion, according to this year’s annual “20 Great Money Managers” ranking, published on Monday by Edmond de Rothschild Capital Holdings. TCI, Sir Christopher Hohn’s $77.1 billion activist fund, delivered $18.9 billion for investors in 2025 — the year’s biggest take, and the highest-ever dollar gain by a single manager. Citadel, the $65.9 billion fund manager led by billionaire Ken Griffin, was named the most successful hedge fund firm of all time for the fourth year in a row. The multi-strategy giant has now delivered $90.4 billion worth of gains after fees for its investors since launching in 1990 — including a $7.4 billion rise last year. D.E. Shaw, the $72.4 billion quantitative investment powerhouse that uses statistical algorithms and other computer-driven techniques to trade markets, claimed second spot. Since its 1988 launch, the firm has delivered $79.9 billion in net gains for clients, after adding $12.7 billion in 2025. The research, published annually since 2012, scores the world’s 20 best-performing hedge fund firms by all-time net gains since inception. The industry power ranking also charts firms’ annual returns for 2025 and their current assets under management. Collectively, the top 20 managers’ net-of-fees gain of $115.8 billion last year was over $20 billion more than the $93.7 billion they generated in 2024. Size matters While the industry as a whole posted its strongest annual return since 2009, the data reinforces the advantage of scale. Despite accounting for just 16.6% of total global hedge fund assets, these 20 firms produced over 39% of all industry-wide gains in 2025, underlining how the largest firms continue to dominate performance and profits. The weighted average return of the top 20 managers reached 15.7% in 2025, comfortably ahead of the broader industry’s 12.6% gain, as measured by Hedge Fund Research’s Fund Weighted Composite Index. “A combination of record high assets under management, strong equity and bond markets, and sizeable macro trading opportunities all contributed to this strong performance,” said Rick Sopher, senior advisor at Edmond de Rothschild. Bridgewater Associates and Millennium traded positions in this year’s rankings, taking third and fourth place, respectively. Bridgewater climbed to third thanks to a $15.6 billion gain in 2025 — more than double Millennium’s annual gain — lifting its all-time net gains to $79.1 billion. Founded by Ray Dalio in 1975, Bridgewater currently manages $76.9 billion in assets. Multi-manager pioneer Millennium slipped one spot to fourth. But the firm, founded by Israel “Izzy” Englander in 1989, is now ranked the world’s largest hedge fund firm by assets, with $85 billion under management. The company — whose model is built around a so-called “pod shop” approach, comprising dozens of semi-autonomous portfolio managers and trading teams running various investment strategies — has generated $73.4 billion in net gains since inception. It added $7.9 billion last year. ‘Shrewd business instinct’ Meanwhile, London-headquartered TCI ranked fifth, up from 14 th place in just three years. The firm led a cluster of U.K. managers that also included Brevan Howard Asset Management, the macro trading firm co-founded by Alan Howard, as well as Egerton Capital and Marshall Wace. “The gains made by TCI continue to be quite remarkable; over the past three years TCI has made $40 billion net of fees for investors,” said Sopher. Elliott Management, the activist hedge fund launched by Paul Singer in 1977, made $5.7 billion last year, bringing its total assets to $80 billion. Its all-time gain of $59.5 billion since launch helped it secure sixth place. In total, the top 20 hedge fund firms have now generated $926.5 billion in net gains for investors since inception. The broader hedge fund industry’s cumulative net gain has climbed to $2.37 trillion, boosted by 2025’s landmark $543 billion advance, according to the estimates. “Remarkably, there were no new entries into the top 20, and relatively little movement among the leaders, reflecting perhaps the persistence and dominance of the top firms,” Sopher said. “Most of the top 20 are run by managers with a shrewd business instinct who have proven over decades that they can make money for investors.”
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