Millennium and Point72 gain as hedge funds rebound from Iran war
Izzy Englander and Steve Cohen’s firms post double-digit returns in first half of year
Izzy Englander’s Millennium and Steve Cohen’s Point72 were among big hedge funds to have posted double-digit gains in the first half of the year, as the industry recovers from losses sustained after the outbreak of the Iran war.
Millennium, which manages about $89bn in assets, gained 4.1 per cent last month, taking its gains in the six months to June to 10.5 per cent, according to people who have seen the numbers. Point72 made 3.4 per cent last month to June 25, taking gains this year to 14.5 per cent, the people said.
The flagship fund of rival Schonfeld, which manages $22bn in overall assets, was up 8.4 per cent for the six months. All three firms declined to comment.
Many so-called multi-manager hedge funds, which run tens or even hundreds of trading teams, had a challenging first quarter, as the US-Israeli strikes on Iran sent the price of oil soaring.
That led to a sharp repricing of market expectations on inflation and interest rates, upending a number of funds’ bets on bonds, currencies and other assets.
Hedge funds on average lost 2.8 per cent in March following the outbreak of the conflict, according to data provider HFR, but have rebounded strongly since then, helped by a sharp rally in stock markets.
Many funds have latched on to semiconductor stocks such as AMD, Sandisk and Intel, which have soared this year as the beneficiaries of huge spending by the hyperscalers.
Elsewhere, London-based hedge fund Pharo’s Macro fund was up 9.7 per cent for the first half of the year, while London-listed Man Group’s flagship multi-strategy fund was provisionally up 8.2 per cent.