Hedge funds managed by protégés of the late Tiger Management founder Julian Robertson, known as “Tiger Cubs,” reported robust double-digit returns in 2024, buoyed by the soaring performance of technology stocks, their second consecutive year of recovery following a challenging 2022, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that Lone Pine Capital posted a 36% return last year, while Tiger Global Management recorded a 24% gain, and Coatue Management gained 19%.
The three funds benefitted significantly from their exposure to Meta Platforms, their largest position as of 30 September. Meta surged 65% in 2024, contributing to the S&P 500’s 23% rise, which was largely driven by a handful of tech giants including Nvidia, Apple, Amazon.com, and Meta itself.
The strong performance aligns with broader trends in equity-focused hedge funds, which posted their best average returns in 11 years. According to PivotalPath, these funds delivered a 14.7% average return through November, making equity long-short the top-performing hedge fund strategy of the year.
Not all hedge fund success stories hinged on popular tech names. Contour Asset Management, a $3bn fund, achieved a remarkable 47.8% gain, bolstered by its short positions. Despite its focus on technology, media, and telecommunications, the fund largely avoided Nvidia and Apple while reducing its Amazon stake.
David Rosen’s Rubric Capital, meanwhile, saw extraordinary gains of 81.5%, driven by its investment in Talen Energy. The energy company, Rubric’s largest holding, tripled in value amid increasing investor interest in power companies benefiting from the growing demand for electricity from data centres. By the end of Q3, Rubric’s Talen stake was valued at approximately $2bn.
Dan Sundheim’s D1 Capital Partners also reported strong returns, with its stock portfolio rising 44.6% in 2024. However, public equity investments account for only 40% of the firm’s $21bn in assets, with the remainder allocated to venture capital.
