Citadel's weakest year since 2018

Citadel's prominent Wellington fund achieved a 10.2% return in 2025, representing its least successful year since 2018. This performance fell just shy of its rival, Millennium Management, which posted a 10.5% gain. This marks the first instance since 2020 that Millennium has surpassed Citadel's Wellington fund.

Both Ken Griffin's Citadel, managing $72 billion, and Izzy Englander's Millennium Management, with over $83.5 billion, experienced a challenging year compared to some industry leaders. For example, Balyasny Asset Management reported a 16.7% gain, and D.E. Shaw & Co.'s hedge funds saw returns as high as 28%.

Several factors contributed to the struggles of multistrategy hedge funds during 2025. Difficulties with energy-related investments and broader geopolitical instability, exacerbated by trade tensions, created a volatile market environment that complicated investment strategies.