Hedge fund majors Citadel and Millennium have posted solid gains in the first half of the year, continuing a strong performance trend for the multi-strategy firms that dominate the industry, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The report cites sources familiar with then matter as revealing that Ken Griffin's Citadel saw its flagship Wellington fund gain 8.1% by the end of June, while Izzy Englander's Millennium achieved a 6.9% increase. Although these figures fall short of the S&P 500's 15% gain over the same period, they are well ahead of the average hedge fund return of 5.2% up to the end of May, as reported by Hedge Fund Research.

Both Citadel and Millennium, managing $63bn and $67.7bn in assets respectively, aim to generate profits for investors regardless of broader market conditions, and notably, both funds profited in 2022 when the S&P 500 fell by 19.4%.

Their strong H1 performance means both Citadel and Millennium's strong are positioned to potentially exceed last year's returns. In 2022, Citadel's main fund rose by 38.1%, marking it as the most successful hedge fund of all time. Millennium saw a 25.9% increase in 2020.