Cliff Asness, co-founder of quant powerhouse AQR Capital Management, says markets are finally rewarding fundamentals again – marking a resurgence for systematic strategies that had long struggled in an era of speculative excess, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Asness said: “It’s been a tremendous return for basic rational investing,” adding that the market is favouring “good companies that are getting better, that aren’t too risky.” His comments come amid a backdrop of tariff-induced market volatility, which has bolstered many long/short quant stock-picking strategies.
AQR’s Equity Market Neutral Fund has returned approximately 15% year-to-date, according to Bloomberg data, in a sign that disciplined factor investing is back in favour. Asness noted that factors like quality, low risk, and momentum have all delivered strong results in 2025, while traditional value strategies have lagged.
This marks a sharp contrast to the pre-pandemic and zero-rate environment, which Asness had previously described as “bubbly,” where fundamentals were ignored and overpriced stocks continued to climb.
The firm’s flagship Apex Strategy, a multi-strategy vehicle managing roughly $3.9bn, gained 2.4% in May, bringing its year-to-date return to 10.6%, according to a person familiar with performance. Apex blends AQR’s core strategies, including stock selection, corporate arbitrage, and macro trades.
AQR’s Delphi Long-Short Equity Strategy, also with about $3.9bn in AUM, returned 1.8% in May and is up 13.9% in 2025, benefiting from investors’ broad flight to quality—a trend that has rewarded low-volatility, high-profitability companies.
The renewed performance follows a challenging decade for quant strategies, particularly those anchored in traditional academic investing principles. But with investor sentiment shifting and fundamentals regaining importance, AQR and other systematic managers are now seeing strong tailwinds.
