Global macro hedge funds try to benefit from the big market movements triggered by political or economic events. For example, if a fund manager believes that a country could slide into recession, it may short sell stocks and futures contracts. Holdings of such a fund include long and short positions in equity, futures, commodities, fixed income and currency. Such funds develop their portfolio around projections of big events that may impact a country, continent or all continents. Now that you know what global macro hedge funds are, let’s take a look at the biggest global macro hedge funds in the U.S.
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Biggest global macro hedge funds in the U.S.
As per the list from hedgelists, the following are the biggest global macro hedge funds in the U.S. on the basis of assets under management (AUM):
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Element Capital Management
Founded in 2005 by Jeffrey Talpins, the company is headquartered in New York. It also has an office in London. The company had $55.852 billion of assets under management in 2018. It manages investments for qualified investors only.
According to the company, it uses its “proprietary base of technology, disciplined risk management, innovative trade structuring and advanced portfolio construction techniques to implement its strategies.”
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Moore Capital Management
Founded in 1989 by Louis Moore Bacon, the company is headquartered in New York. It has additional offices in London, Hong Kong and Miami. The hedge fund had $53.824 billion of assets under management in 2018. Bacon is seen as one of the most successful traders of his era. He is also credited for popularizing “macro” trading by betting on U.S. equity, European bonds, Asian currencies and more with regard to the expectations of the global macroeconomy.
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Och-Ziff Capital Management
Now known as Sculptor Capital Management, it is a global diversified alternative asset management company. The company is headquartered in New York with additional offices in London, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Shanghai. The hedge fund had $51.743 billion of assets under management in 2018. The company offers a range of products across Multi-Strategy, Credit and Real Estate.
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Viking Global Investors
It is a global investment firm founded in 1999. Viking Global has its headquarters in Greenwich and additional offices in New York City, Hong Kong, London and San Francisco.The hedge fund had $43.37 billion of assets under management in 2018. The company utilizes fundamental analysis to decide on the investments.
“We generally invest in companies based on a thorough assessment of their business models and fundamentals, the quality of their management teams and cyclical and secular industry trends,” the website of the company says.
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BlackRock Alternative Advisors (BAA)
It is BlackRock’s dedicated hedge fund solutions provider that has been investing in hedge funds for almost 25 years now. It specializes “across the universe of hedge fund managers and strategies, as well as hedge fund-sponsored co-investments.” The hedge fund had $33.25 billion of assets under management in 2018.
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Graham Capital Management
Founded in 1994, this alternative investment firm specializes in “innovative quantitative and discretionary investment solutions.” Its core investment capabilities cover “discretionary macro, quantitative macro, and systematic trend-following.” The company is headquartered in Rowayton, CT. The hedge fund had $30.308 billion of assets under management in 2018.
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BlueMountain Capital Management
BlueMountain Capital Management was renamed Assured Investment Management LLC in September of this year. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in New York City. The hedge fund had $22.787 billion of assets under management in 2018. The company specializes in municipal and corporate debt and structured credit.
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King Street Capital Management
Founded in 1995, King Street is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo and Charlottesville, VA. The hedge fund had $21.219 billion of assets under management in 2018. The company manages two global evergreen funds that are based on event-driven and long/short multi-strategy credit investments. It also manages a European Fund that “generally invests alongside the Flagship Funds in European situations.”
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Caxton Associates
Founded in 1983, this trading and investment firm is based in New York City. It has additional offices in London, Princeton NJ and Singapore. The hedge fund had $19.426 billion of assets under management in 2018. As per the company, its primary business is to “manage client and proprietary capital through global macro hedge fund strategies.”
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Maverick Capital
Founded in 1993, it is a “registered investment advisor managing private investment funds exclusively for qualified investors.” The company is based in Dallas and has been investing in early-stage companies for more than 25 years now. The hedge fund had $15.921 billion of assets under management in 2018.
