Ken Griffin's Citadel extends winning streak in 2023 after last year's record gains, matching the broader rally in stocks

• Ken Griffin's hedge fund Citadel has continued to shine this year after a stellar performance in 2022.
• The powerhouse's multi-strategy fund Wellington rose 2.8% this year through February.

Billionaire Ken Griffin's hedge fund Citadel is off to a good start this year after enjoying record profits in 2022.

The powerhouse's multi-strategy flagship fund Wellington gained 0.7% last month, bringing its year-to-date performance through February to 2.8%. The strong numbers mirror the rally in stocks this year, with the S&P 500 rising more than 3% in the same period.

Meanwhile, Citadel's equities fund advanced 2.4%, while its global fixed income fund is 1.6% higher so far in 2023.

The promising numbers build on Citadel's record performance last year where it earned a record $16 billion in profits for investors in 2022, marking the largest gain in history.

Citadel's record-breaking gains topped the seven-year winner Ray Dalio's Bridgewater on LCH's top hedge fund manager list for 2022. It also outpaced the roughly $15.6 billion made by investor John Paulson in 2007 – classed as the "greatest trade ever" at the time, per Bloomberg.

That was despite a tough year for the investment industry thanks to the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening policy and geopolitical tensions, which weighed on markets. The Fed's jumbo rate hikes caused both stocks and bonds to drop in value, meaning hedge funds that bet against falling prices lost out.

This year however, US stocks have staged a comeback as investors anticipate the Fed will ease up on the pace of its interest-rate hikes as inflation cools. The Nasdaq is up about 12% so far this year, while the Dow Jones has risen about 0.76%.