2024 hedge-fund returns: Schonfeld, D.E. Shaw, and Walleye among the year's big winners

• Among the multimanagers, $12 billion Schonfeld led the way in 2024.
• The firm bounced back from a tumultuous 2023 to return close to 20% last year.
• Its multistrategy peers ended with double-digit returns but didn't match the S&P 500's 23% gain.

What a difference a year makes.

When 2023 came to a close, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors was trailing its peers and shedding staff. A year later, the $12 billion New York-based manager is atop the league table with a 19.7% gain in 2024, people close to the firm told Business Insider.

Schonfeld was positive every month in 2024 and added 19 portfolio managers across different strategies, one person close to the manager said. The firm was one of many in the industry that expanded their international footprint, with an office in Dubai, and 40% of the firm's risk is now managed by portfolio managers operating outside the US, the person said.

For the most part, the massive multimanager firms that dominated industry news for the past few years performed as expected.

While these managers didn't match the S&P 500's 23% gain last year, nearly all finished 2024 with double-digit net returns.

D.E. Shaw, the $65 billion giant based in New York, returned 18% in its multistrategy Composite fund and more than 36% in its macro-focused Oculus fund, a person familiar confirmed. Bloomberg reported that the firm was planning to return billions of profits to investors.

Ken Griffin's Citadel, which about two years ago was named the most profitable hedge fund of all time, returned 15.1% in 2024 in its flagship Wellington fund, three people familiar with the firm's performance told BI. One person close to the firm said the Miami-based firm returned more than 22% in its Tactical Trading fund, which comprises the firm's fundamental equities and quant teams.

Izzy Englander's Millennium, meanwhile, finished the year up 15% after a 2.5% gain in December.

One of the year's most interesting managers, Walleye Capital, capped its big 2024 with a 1.8% gain in December, bringing the firm's 2024 returns to 17.7%, a person close to the firm said.

For more returns, see the table below. Managers declined to comment or did not immediately return requests for comment. Firms will be added as their performances are learned.