Here's how hedge funds like Citadel, Schonfeld, and ExodusPoint performed in January

• The industry's biggest hedge funds posted gains last month.
• Citadel and Schonfeld's smaller strategies had a strong January, as did Asia-based funds.
• The S&P 500 index hit record highs in January, though it gave back some gains at the end of the month.

The biggest hedge funds in the $5 trillion industry started 2026 in the black, for the most part.

Ken Griffin's $65 billion Citadel returned 1% in its flagship Wellington fund in January, a person close to the Miami-based firm told Business Insider. Schonfeld also returned 1% in its flagship Partners fund last month, a person close to the firm said. Michael Gelband's ExodusPoint, which had the best year in its history in 2025, was up 1.8% in January, a person close to the manager said.

Multistrategy funds place bets across a diversified set of strategies to generate strong returns for investors. However, a trend started in 2025 seems to be continuing for some bit names: several firms' smaller funds outperformed their broader flagship offerings.

Citadel's Tactical Trading fund, which blends its fundamental stockpicking strategies with its computer-run ones, was up 2% in January, a strong showing given the choppy start to the year quant funds have faced. The firm's fixed-income-only fund was up 1.3%, the person close to the manager said.

Schonfeld's Fundamental Equity fund was up 2.4% in January, and LMR's convertibles-focused fund posted a 2.5% gain last month, people close to the two managers told Business Insider.

The S&P 500 index was up 1.4% last month, hitting all-time highs in the middle of January, before dipping slightly before the month's end.

A bright spot in the industry was strategies focused on Asian markets. Two Asia-based multistrategy managers, $5 billion Dymon Asia and $3 billion Pinpoint Asset Management, had banner months, returning 5% and 4.8%, respectively.

For Pinpoint, it was the best monthly return since July 2020, a person close to the manager told Business Insider. Dymon Asia's returns were driven by Asian equities and FX strategies, a senior executive at the firm told Business Insider.

The firms mentioned declined to comment.

(Editor's note: This story was originally published on February 2 at 12:33 p.m. New figures have been added to the table below as they have been learned.)