Weekly update

Emerging Market Hedge Fund Gains Accelerate Through May – HFR

Data revealed that assets under management in the emerging market hedge fund space reached their highest level since the second quarter of 2022. Emerging markets hedge funds showed accelerated gains through mid-2024. The HFRI Emerging Markets: Global Index, issued by Hedge Fund Research, rose by 6.8% year-to-date through May. This increase was led by the HFRI EM: Asia ex-Japan Index, which rose 5.1%, and the HFRI EM: India Index, which was up 4.3%. Total assets under management in emerging markets and Asian hedge funds grew to approximately $250 billion, while the capital invested in Asian hedge funds increased to nearly $133 billion. Both figures represent the highest capital levels since the second quarter of 2022.

The HFRI Emerging Markets (Total) Index, covering all EM regions, advanced 4.2% year-to-date through May. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index?, which includes funds investing in both emerging and developed markets, rose 5.2% year-to-date, led by the HFRI Macro (Total) Index, which increased by 7.0% in the first five months of the year. Other regional emerging markets indices had mixed performance through early 2024. The HFRI EM: Latin America Index logged a narrow gain of 0.2% year-to-date, while the HFRI EM: MENA Index fell 2.8% due to rising geopolitical risks. Additionally, hedge funds with high exposure to cryptocurrency in regions including South Korea, Russia, China, the Middle East, and Japan have surged recently. The volatile HFR Cryptocurrency Index surged by 34.9% year-to-date through May, following a 67.7% surge in 2023.

Citadel Securities hired Schonfeld's head of macro research

Jaime Villa, the former head of macro research at hedge fund Schonfeld, has made the move to Citadel Securities, according to eFinancial. Bloomberg recently reported that Citadel Securities has bolstered its 120-strong rates trading team in London and Paris, adding several sterling and euro rates traders and salespeople under the leadership of global head of rates trading, Michael De Pass.

Villa's departure from Schonfeld aligns with the fund's shift in macro strategy. Despite these changes, Schonfeld is hiring new talent, such as former Barclays rates trader Jordan Barnes and Citi bond trader Rahul Mehra. After a challenging 2023, Schonfeld is now one of the top-performing hedge funds in 2024, reportedly returning 8.2% through June. Villa's career has predominantly been on the buy-side.

Millennium in Talks to Raise Billions of Dollars in New Capital

Millennium Management is planning to raise new capital amounting to roughly 10% of its $68 billion in assets, aiming to enhance its liquidity.

The New York-based investment firm is negotiating with investors to secure commitments for a draw-down fund, which would enable Millennium to access the cash as needed, according to Bloomberg.