Citadel Funds Post Record July Returns After Taking Over AI Stock Picker's Positions
Citadel's flagship funds posted their best monthly returns in years for July, after acquiring most of Leopold Aschenbrenner's secondary-market positions at a 10% discount during a tech selloff. The Wellington fund gained 5.9%, its best month since 2022, bringing its 2026 return to 12%. The tactical trading fund rose 11.1%, and another equity fund gained 14.1%, both record monthly gains, with 2026 returns above 27%. A tech rebound followed the acquisition.
Several Citadel funds posted their best monthly performance in years in July, a result linked to last week's acquisition of positions held by the fund of Leopold Aschenbrenner, the so-called "AI stock picker." During the tech selloff, Citadel bought most of the fund's secondary-market positions at a 10% discount. Since last Thursday, AI tech stocks have rebounded strongly, with cloud provider Nebius rising more than 50% and SanDisk gaining over 40% from its low.
Fund data show Citadel's flagship multi-strategy Wellington fund returned 5.9% in July, its best monthly performance since 2022, lifting its cumulative return for 2026 to 12%. The tactical trading fund, combining active management and quantitative strategies, returned 11.1% in July, while another equity fund gained 14.1% last month. Both funds posted their best monthly gains since inception, with 2026 returns exceeding 27%.
Market context: equities overall suffered a "black July" last month, and Citadel struggled to generate returns in the first weeks. As of July 24, Wellington's monthly performance was roughly flat, and markets weakened further in the first three days of last week. After the acquisition deal was completed, the tech rebound lifted prices of related assets.
Citadel has a history of distressed transactions. In 2001, on the day Enron filed for bankruptcy, the firm sent more than a dozen senior executives to Houston to investigate the collapse and hired away some of its top analysts. In 2006, Citadel and JPMorgan jointly acquired the entire trading portfolio of Amaranth Advisors, which had collapsed due to failed natural gas bets. In 2007, when Sowood Capital Management failed, Citadel quickly assembled a 50-person team and secured its credit portfolio through overnight negotiations.