A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that holds liquid assets and that makes use of complex trading and risk management techniques to improve investment performance and insulate returns from market risk. Among these portfolio techniques are short selling and the use of leverage and derivative instruments. In the United States, financial regulations require that hedge funds be marketed only to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals.
Credit Suisse Group AG is a global investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland as a standalone firm but now a subsidiary of UBS. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse will be fully integrated into UBS but while the integration is not complete both banks are operating separately. Headquartered in Zürich, as a standalone firm it maintained offices in all major financial centers around the world and provided services in investment banking, private banking, asset management, and shared services. It was known for strict bank–client confidentiality and banking secrecy. The Financial Stability Board considered it to be a global systemically important bank. Credit Suisse was also a primary dealer and Forex counterparty of the Federal Reserve in the United States.
Renaissance Technologies LLC, also known as RenTech or RenTec, is an American hedge fund based in East Setauket, New York, on Long Island, which specializes in systematic trading using quantitative models derived from mathematical and statistical analysis. Their signature Medallion fund is famed for the best record in investing history. Renaissance was founded in 1982 by James Simons, a mathematician who formerly worked as a code breaker during the Cold War.
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. was an American investment bank, securities trading, and brokerage firm that failed in 2008 during the 2007–2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. After its closure it was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase. The company's main business areas before its failure were capital markets, investment banking, wealth management, and global clearing services, and it was heavily involved in the subprime mortgage crisis.
Soros Fund Management, LLC is a privately held American investment management firm. It is currently structured as a family office, but formerly as a hedge fund. The firm was founded in 1970 by George Soros and, in 2010, was reported to be one of the most profitable firms in the hedge fund industry, averaging a 20% annual rate of return over four decades. It is headquartered at 250 West 55th Street in New York. As of 2023, Soros Fund Management, LLC had $25 billion in AUM.
Prime brokerage is the generic term for a bundled package of services offered by investment banks, wealth management firms, and securities dealers to hedge funds which need the ability to borrow securities and cash in order to be able to invest on a netted basis and achieve an absolute return. The prime broker provides a centralized securities clearing facility for the hedge fund so the hedge fund's collateral requirements are netted across all deals handled by the prime broker. These two features are advantageous to their clients.
Blackstone Credit, formerly known as GSO Capital Partners (GSO) is an American hedge fund and the credit investment arm of The Blackstone Group. Blackstone Credit is one of the largest credit-oriented alternative asset managers in the world and a major participant in the leveraged finance marketplace. The firm invests across a variety of credit oriented strategies and products including collateralized loan obligation vehicles investing in secured loans, hedge funds focused on special situations investments, mezzanine debt funds and private equity funds focused on rescue financing.
Robin Crispin William Odey is a British hedge fund manager and founder of Odey Asset Management. According to Bloomberg in November 2017, he is "known for his bearish outlook" on the markets.
A quantitative fund is an investment fund that uses quantitative investment management instead of fundamental human analysis.
Brevan Howard is a European hedge fund management company based in Jersey with its funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Brevan Howard was founded in 2002 by Alan Howard, alongside four other co-founders including Chris Rokos, and is widely considered to be one of the top global macro hedge funds.
UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Headquartered simultaneously in Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres as the largest Swiss banking institution and the largest private bank in the world. UBS investment bankers and private bankers are known for their strict bank–client confidentiality and culture of banking secrecy. Because of the bank's large positions in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a global systemically important bank.
Paulson & Co., Inc. is a family office based in New York City. Previously, it was a hedge fund established by John Paulson in 1994. Specializing in "global mergers, event arbitrage, and credit strategies", the firm had a relatively low profile on Wall Street until its hugely successful bet against the subprime mortgage market in 2007. At one time the company had offices in London and Dublin.
CQS is a London-based global multi-strategy credit-focused asset management firm. It launched its first credit strategy in 2000 and now manages a range of investment mandates. Specific investment capabilities include convertibles, asset backed securities, credit, loans, structured credit, and equities.
Millennium Management is an investment management firm with a multistrategy hedge fund offering. It is one of the world's largest alternative asset management firms with over $67.9 billion assets under management as of August 2024. The firm operates in America, Europe and Asia. As of 2022, Millennium had posted the fourth highest net gains of any hedge fund since its inception in 1989.
Quantedge Capital is an alternative investment asset manager based in Singapore and New York City. It manages over US$3 billion under its flagship Quantedge Global Master Fund primarily on behalf of high-net-worth individuals, family offices and institutions.
York Capital Management is a global institutional investment management firm with approximately $18.5 billion in assets under management as of June 2019. The firm was founded in 1991 by Jamie Dinan.
Rokos Capital Management LLP (RCM) is a British Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). RCM is headquartered in London, with offices in New York,Washington DC and Singapore. It is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The firm has around 200 employees.
Sung Kook Hwang, also known as Bill Hwang, is a Korean-born American investor and trader. He ran Archegos Capital Management, whose default on March 26, 2021 caused major losses to several notable investment banks. In April 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Hwang had lost US$20 billion over 10 days in late March, imposing large losses on his bankers Nomura and Credit Suisse. On April 27, 2022, he was indicted on federal charges of fraud and racketeering. The default of Archegos contributed to the eventual collapse of Credit Suisse. On July 10, 2024, a 12-person jury in a federal court in Manhattan found him guilty on 10 out of 11 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, racketeering, and market manipulation. His sentencing is scheduled for October 28, 2024.
Squarepoint Capital ("Squarepoint") is a global investment management firm headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Europe and Asia. The firm is known for its quantitative finance approach to investing.
Jain Global is an American investment management firm headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Europe and Asia–Pacific.
