2025 Hedge Fund Performance: Key Players Emerged Victorious

Despite facing turbulent conditions marked by geopolitical upheavals and market instability, major hedge funds emerged with impressive returns in 2025.

Notable among these were Michael Gelband's ExodusPoint and D.E. Shaw. Although the overall economic atmosphere was fraught with challenges, like international tariff tensions, many funds succeeded in delivering robust returns. However, most still underperformed compared to the S&P 500's 16.4% increase for the year.

In a year filled with AI-driven volatility, unprecedented sell-offs, imposing tariffs from leading economies, and unanticipated losses from quantitative strategies, hedge funds faced numerous hurdles in 2025. By year's end, industry leaders within the $5 trillion sector announced strong performances.

ExodusPoint, directed by Michael Gelband, recorded its best performance since its historic launch in 2018. A source close to the New York firm revealed it gained 18% overall, with December alone contributing 2.1%. Likewise, Dmitry Balyasny's $31 billion fund returned 16.7%, according to insiders.

Additionally, D.E. Shaw’s Composite multistrategy fund saw an 18.5% increase, while other funds such as Ari Glass’s Boothbay and the $6.8 billion AQR Apex fund surpassed the S&P's annual rise. Several fund managers achieved middle-teen returns, close to the market index.

Conversely, some larger firms lagged behind smaller contenders throughout 2025. For instance, Izzy Englander's $83.5 billion Millennium posted a 10.5% gain, as reported by sources close to the management. These returns were accumulated after a 1.9% boost in December.

Below is a summary of fund performances, though the highlighted managers have opted not to comment on these results. New data will be included as it becomes available.