Citadel, the US hedge fund behemoth led by Ken Griffin, has built up short positions in 21 UK stocks, according to new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) short selling disclosure data, as new IMF data shows a worsening economic outlook for the UK.
Citadel’s bearish bets emerge as new data published by the International Monetary Fund suggests the UK economy’s performance in 2023 will be the worst among the G20 nations.
Citadel, which has $62 billion in assets under management, has taken negative wagers against a diverse range of well-known UK companies, including ASOS, abrdn, Wetherspoons, boohoo, Deliveroo, The Gym Group and Savills, analysis by the Motley Fool shows.
Separately, Griffin – Citadel’s founder, CEO and co-CIO – this week donated $300 million to his alma mater Harvard University. Griffin, who started his hedge fund in his dormitory at the Ivy League institution, has now donated more than $500 million in total to Harvard.
The latest gift has been earmarked for the university’s 150-year-old Faculty of Arts and Sciences, which oversees the undergraduate programme as well as all PhD programs plus athletics, museums and libraries.