Last month was one of the worst in a long time for big-name hedge funds such as Izzy Englander's Millennium and Steve Cohen's Point72. March could be even worse.
Early monthly returns for large multistrategy firms show industry-wide pain thanks to the market volatility brought on by President Donald Trump and his administration's policies toward trade. These managers have amassed never-before-seen scale and headcounts over recent years because of their ability to make money no matter the market conditions.
But people close to these managers said Millennium, Point72 and Schonfeld have all lost money in March as momentum-linked trades, such as index rebalance strategies that stung Millennium last month, continue to unwind, and stocks fall across the board.
These people said Millennium and Point72 were each down 1.4% for March through last Thursday. This was before Monday's market moves, which saw the tech-heavy Nasdaq index have its worst trading day since 2022.
Even a bright spot for the year among the big-name multistrategy firms has had a rough start to March. Schonfeld, which was flat in February, has lost 1.2% this month through last week's end, according to a person close to the firm.
The managers mentioned declined to comment.
"If you see a long/short equity p.m. today give them a hug, they need it," wrote Benn Eifert, the cofounder of QVR Advisors, which runs volatility and derivatives strategies, on X Monday.
Through the end of last week, the S&P 500 had fallen more than 3%, and the index lost another 2.7% on Monday in the worst trading day of the year, and more pain could be on the way.
"Markets are still richly valued, even if it does feel like we are at an inflection point," Man Group wrote in a new post. Given bearish attitudes and "sky-high valuations" in the stock market, the London-based manager wrote, "The fat lady may not have sung yet. But be under no illusion: the stage is set."
One of the biggest losers among large-cap stocks in recent weeks was a hedge fund favorite coming into the year, adtech darling AppLovin. The stock in the portfolios of Tiger Cubs like Viking Global, Coatue, and Lone Pine at the start of the quarter is down more than 50% since its mid-February high. It's unclear if these funds were able to sell any or all of their stakes before the drop.
Lone Pine and Viking declined to comment, while Coatue did not respond to immediate requests for comment.
Markets were exuberant following Trump's election, as Wall Street believed his administration would cut regulation but not follow through with his tariff threats. However, as consumer confidence dips and geopolitical tensions rise, markets have begun to turn.
Even supporters of the president, like billionaire Third Point founder Dan Loeb, are acknowledging that the markets under the current administration will be, at the very least, volatile.
"We are born alone; we die alone and we navigate the Trump stock market alone," Loeb posted on X Monday, in a twist on the well-known Orson Welles quote. His firm's publicly traded offering lost 2.3% in February and was down another 70 basis points after the first week of March.
Correction: March 11, 2025 — An earlier version of this story included an incorrect early performance number for Balyasny. It has been removed.
