Top hedge funds earn $ 63.5 billion in 2020, highest in a decade: LCH data

BOSTON (Reuters) – The 20 best performing hedge funds in the world grossed $ 63.5 billion to their clients in 2020, setting a record for the past 10 years in a chaotic era when tech-driven stocks sparked a Dramatic rebound after pandemic-induced selloff, LCH Investment data shows.

As a group, the top-performing managers made half of the $ 127 billion that all hedge funds made last year, reported LCH Investments, a fund of fund company that tracks performance and is part of the Edmond de Rothschild group.

Despite the pandemic that sparked a historic stock market sell-off in March, shut down large sectors of the economy and swallowed up millions of jobs, the top 20 hedge funds topped their 2019 returns by $ 59.3 billion. And this, although 2020 will not be as profitable as the year before for hedge funds as a whole, which saw their profits fall by $ 178 billion in 2019.

The average hedge fund returned 11.6% in 2020, according to data from Hedge Fund Research, lagging behind the 16% gain in the S&P 500 index.

“The net earnings generated by the top 20 managers for their investors of $ 63.5 billion were the highest in a decade. In that sense, 2020 has been the year of the hedge fund, ”said Rick Sopher, president of LCH, in a statement.

Biggest earners last year include Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global, which earned $ 10.4 billion, Israel Englander’s Millennium, which grossed $ 10.2 billion, and Steve Mandel’s Lone Pine with 9, $ 1 billion. Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global Investors earned $ 7.0 billion and Ken Griffin’s Citadel earned $ 6.2 billion, according to data from LCH.

Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, founded in 1975, has remained at number one since its inception, with $ 46.5 billion in earnings, even after a terrible 2020 in which CHL data shows Dalio lost 12 , $ 1 billion.

Soros Fund Management of George Soros, who no longer manages money for external clients, retained the second place, followed by Mandel, Griffin and managers from DE Shaw who completed the top five of all time.

In 2020, only Paulson & Co. of Dalio and John Paulson, who made billions from betting in the housing market during the financial crisis, lost money, the data shows.

Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies, often ranked among the best performing funds in the world due to the returns on its Medallion portfolio, fell among the top 20 after the funds it offers to foreigners fell between 20% and 30% Last year.

“The conditions favored man over machine and it was remarkable that Renaissance Technologies, a machine engine manager, came out of the top 20,” said Sopher.