London-based credit specialist Sona Asset Management attracted approximately $6.6bn in additional assets in 2025, highlighting continued investor appetite for focused hedge fund strategies beyond the large multi-strategy platforms, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the matter as revealing that the firm now manages around $16.6bn across its flagship hedge fund, capital solutions, collateralised loan obligation (CLO) vehicles and significant risk transfer strategies. The asset growth was driven by a combination of performance gains and net inflows.
Sona’s flagship Credit Master fund returned 12.8% for the year and has grown to roughly $11bn in assets, up from $7.5bn at the start of the year. Performance was supported by a range of credit positions, as divergence widened between issuers able to refinance and weaker borrowers facing mounting pressure.
Other strategies at the firm generated internal rates of return of between 14% and 17%, the sources said.
Founded in 2016 by John Aylward with approximately $300m of capital from Paloma Partners, Sona initially managed money exclusively for the firm before opening its strategies to external investors and broadening its product set. The firm now employs 154 staff.
Sona is among a small group of rapidly expanding London-based credit hedge funds, alongside peers such as Arini Capital Management, that have continued to attract capital despite strong investor and talent flows toward large multi-strategy hedge funds.
The firm recently appointed former Deutsche Bank executive Henrik Johnsson as its first chief executive officer.
