Hedge funds are alternative investments that deploy several strategies, including derivatives, short-selling and more, to earn a return for their investors. The hedge fund is a massive industry with many big players. However, not all major players were able to maintain their winning streak in 2020, a year ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Still, some hedge funds were able to earn decent returns this year. Discussed in the article are the top performing hedge funds in 2020.
Q3 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Top Performing Hedge Funds In 2020
Following are the top performing hedge funds in 2020 on the basis of change in assets from 2019 to 2020 (as of June 30). This list is based on the data from pionline.com.
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Brevan Howard Asset Mgmt. (37.6%)
Founded in 2002, it is one of the leading absolute return macro hedge fund managers. The company is headquartered in London, and has offices in Jersey, London, Geneva, New York, Washington, Hong Kong and Singapore. Lately, the company has been ramping up its business development team with hires from well-known hedge fund firms including Bluecrest and Exodus Point Capital Management, according to a report from Hedgeweek.
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ExodusPoint Capital (39.5%)
Founded in 2017 by Michael Gelband and Hyung Lee, the fund has been managing outside capital since 2018. The company is based in New York and has more than 400 employees across nine offices globally. ExodusPoint uses a global multi-strategy investment approach, where they combine “complementary liquid strategies” within a robust risk framework to deliver “compelling asymmetric returns.” Last year, the fund managed a return of 6.8%, while in 2018 it returned less than 1%.
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Garda Capital Partners (39.6%)
Garda Capital has more than 16 years of experience in “deploying relative value strategies across fixed income markets for institutional investors." The company’s investment strategy focuses on just one thing, and that is to “protect and grow” the capital of the investors who have trusted them with their money. Garda is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota and has offices in Minneapolis, New York City, Geneva and Copenhagen.
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TCI Fund Mgmt. (40%)
Founded in 2003, it is a London‐based hedge fund management firm founded by Chris Hohn. TCI Fund or The Children's Investment Fund has made impressive returns since its inception. It is one of the few hedge funds that has made profits every year since the financial crisis. However it made less than 1% return in 2018, but last year it posted an impressive return of 41%, as per a Yahoo report.
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UBS O’Connor (40.7%)
Founded in 2000, it is a multi-strategy hedge fund manager within UBS Asset Management. The company’s investment approach includes diversified strategies, collaboration across teams and value investing with risk control. Earlier this year, the company hired many professionals from Point72, as per a report from pionline. O’Connor aims to achieve attractive risk-adjusted absolute returns that have low correlation with “most major asset classes and traditional investment benchmarks.”
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Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisers (42.1%)
With over 40 years of investment experience through its affiliates, the company aims to deliver risk-adjusted returns to clients. The company's investment approach is based on proactive risk management, opportunistic asset allocation and detailed fundamental research.
“Weiss today combines the stability of an over 40 year old company with the culture and enthusiasm of a start up,” George A. Weiss, CEO of the company says.
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Whale Rock Capital Mgmt. (61.8%)
Founded in 2006, it is an investment adviser based in Boston. The company invests globally with a focus on telecom, media and technology sectors. According to Symmetric, this hedge fund has a three-year track record of giving above market returns. Amazon is the biggest holding of the fund, but its portfolio doesn’t just include megacap names. Alex Sacerdote, who is the founder and portfolio manager of Whale Rock Capital Management, made big investments in work-from-home and cyber security stock in the first quarter.
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Saba Capital Mgmt. (67.6%)
Founded in 2009, it is an investment adviser. Saba Capital is a spin-out of Saba Principal Strategies, which was founded in 1998 by Boaz Weinstein. The company manages the investment program on the basis of three core strategies – Closed-End Funds, Credit Relative Value, and Tail Hedge. Saba Capital has its headquarters in New York and employs more than 30 people. It is registered with the SEC and CFTC.
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Hudson Bay Capital Mgmt. (69.6%)
Founded in 2005, it is an investment management firm operating in New York and London. The company has more than 80 employees, and is the successor of Gerber Asset Management LLC. Gerber Asset was a proprietary investment firm founded in 1997 by Hudson Bay’s founder Sander Gerber. Hudson Bay’s approach for consistent performance is to develop and maintain “a diversified portfolio of high-conviction, independent, and limited loss Deal Codes.”
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D1 Capital Partners (86.8%)
Founded in 2018, this global investment firm is based in New York. The company follows a fundamental and research-intensive investment strategy with a focus on medium and long-term returns. D1 Capital focuses on healthcare, telecom, financial services, technology, media, business services, industrials and real estate sectors. Geographically, the company has investments in Japan, China, North America and Western Europe.
