Private wealth - which refers to money held on platforms run by the private banking divisions of places like Goldman as well as wealth advice giants like Merrill Lynch, independent advisors, and family offices - is eager to invest in hedge funds and has plenty of capital to put to work. Goldman's report estimates that less than $500 billion of the $50.7 trillion of private wealth assets are in hedge funds.
For the most part, the big hedge funds have been mostly net sellers of stocks in recent quarters. And while it may seem ominous to have many smart money managers ringing the register this year, I'd argue that profit-taking and rotating capital into some of the more defensive areas of the market is only smart. Of course, taking a bit of capital off the risk-on AI trade for some cheaper, less-loved names comes with the risk of missing out on additional upside,
Riptide Advisors, Errickson's new multimanager firm that's set to start trading on January 1, was created to address the industry's biggest challenge: a shortage of talented, experienced portfolio managers. The new manager's focus, Errickson said, is to be "basically a seeding vehicle" that will let unproven but promising talent - think an analyst at a big firm like Millennium who has never managed a book on their own - run small portfolios of up to $20 million with the goal to add capital and responsibilities over time by graduating to the firm's larger funds.
Thames Water argued that an MP should be forced to pay its hefty legal costs after he represented the interests of the British public in court, a move he described as retaliation for pushing for government control of the crisis-hit utility, the Guardian can reveal. The UK's highest court this week rejected Thames Water's arguments that the Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard should pay legal fees as high as 1,400 per hour.
October was mostly treats instead of tricks for the biggest hedge funds in the industry. Market volatility briefly reached its highest point since the spring rollout of President Donald Trump's tariffs, but investor jitters dissipated quickly as the US and China came to a trade agreement. The biggest players in the $5 trillion hedge fund industry finished October mostly positive, though few were able to match the returns of the S&P 500.
The documentary Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink is now streaming on PBS through the end of the year, and I highly recommend it. Watching this film, viewers follow journalists as they battle vulture capitalist hedge funds. These hedge funds buy up local newspapers and gut their staff and resources. Finally, I understand what a hedge fund does!
Billionaire investors were quite active in the second quarter, with many of the big names going after a relatively narrow basket of stocks. Undoubtedly, great minds tend to think alike, especially in the world of investment. If one investment legend perceives deep value to be had in a specific stock, there's a good chance that others might also see an opportunity to get a steep discount to intrinsic value.
Tiger Management is expanding its investment approach by exploring diverse opportunities, including co-investments in public and private positions, as part of its Tiger 3.0 era.
"Hedge funds have had an emotionally turbulent ride in 2025, starting the year with soaring interest from big investors and optimism for the incoming Donald Trump administration. That optimism did not last long, however, as the President's tariff policies disrupted global trade and sent markets into a frenzy."
What's really important to firm leadership is ensuring that we always have our eyes on up-and-coming talent and that we're identifying and developing those who have the potential to be on the team.
Millennium's recent hires of Grau and Reich reflect continued interest in credit strategies, despite a noted decrease in demand for these approaches moving into 2025.
The hedge fund industry is expected to grow to USD 5 trillion by 2028, driven by demand for alternatives in uncertain markets.
Hedge funds exhibited the largest sell-off of European shares in a decade, prompted by trade tariff concerns and the euro's strength diminishing exports.
Digital asset-focused hedge funds are also gaining traction because of a more favourable regulatory backdrop and leadership changes at the SEC.