Activities CitadelĪs of January 2016, Citadel manages more than $29 billion in capital and is one of the world's largest asset managers. In a letter to employees on June 23, 2022, CEO Ken Griffin announced they would be moving their headquarters to Miami, Florida, due to a more favorable business climate and some consideration of increased crime complaints in Chicago. In January 2021, Citadel and Point72 Asset Management invested $2.75 billion in Melvin Capital, after Melvin Capital lost 53% of its value owing to the GameStop short squeeze. ĭuring the coronavirus pandemic Citadel Securities created a 'bubble' for a class of 100 interns by renting out a luxury resort in Wisconsin.

Citadel under Griffin's leadership was reported as differentiating from hedge funds rivals post 2008 financial crisis with an 'aggressive expansion.' Starting at the beginning of 2014, over an 18 months period the hedge fund's assets under management increased $10 billion from $16 billion to $26 billion as a result of 'a 29% rise for its main hedge funds and a flow of new cash.' In January 2020, Citadel Securities paid $97m in China trading settlement, after Chinese regulators ended a long-standing investigation into Citadel and other local groups.

Having made up the losses, Citadel could once again charge client fees for managing their money and take a percentage of profits. On January 17, 2012, Citadel's flagship funds, Citadel Kensington Global Strategies Fund Ltd and Citadel Wellington LLC, crossed their respective high watermarks, earning back the 50% of assets lost during the 2008 financial crisis. In 2011, Griffin began recruiting the energy traders from Enron the day after it collapsed for a new business including 'a team of traders, meteorologists and researchers' building amongst the industries biggest energy trading groups at the time. However, they rebounded with a 62% return in 2009.

It was leveraged 7:1 and the biggest funds at Citadel finished 2008 down 55%. At the peak of the crisis, the firm was losing 'hundreds of millions of dollars each week'. ĭuring the financial crisis of 2007–2008, for 10 months, Griffin barred his investors from withdrawing money, attracting criticism. Citadel sold its remaining stake in E*Trade in 2013. Citadel received a seat on the board of directors. This transaction included acquiring E-Trade's securitized subprime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and second lien loans, as well as 12.5% senior unsecured notes, and 84,687,686 shares of common stock (equal to 19.99% of the then currently outstanding shares). In 2007, Citadel invested $2.5 billion in E-Trade. In November 2006 Citadel issued $2 billion of investment grade bonds to enable access to borrow money at a lower rate than it would otherwise be able to. In 2006, Citadel and JP Morgan Chase took over the energy portfolio and division of failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors, which had suffered a 65% ($6 billion) loss in assets. When fund Long-Term Capital Management collapsed later that year, Citadel's capital lockdown made it 'a rare buyer, as desperate hedge funds unloaded bond inventory'. In 1998, Citadel started requiring investors to accept terms that 'significantly restrict their ability to withdraw their capital', according to Institutional Investor. Within eight years, the firm had more than $2 billion in assets. The company name was changed to Citadel in 1994. Citadel was originally named Wellington Financial Group after its flagship fund. Citadel was started with $4.6 million in capital. After graduating with a degree in economics, Griffin joined Chicago-based hedge fund Glenwood Partners. As a sophomore, he traded convertible bonds and hooked a satellite dish to the roof of his dormitory. Kenneth Griffin started his trading career out of his dorm room at Harvard University in 1987 trading convertible bonds.

Citadel hedge fund