(Bloomberg) - D.E. Shaw & Co., the quantitative hedge fund giant, ended 2021 with double-digit gains for its two biggest funds.
The flagship Composite Fund rose 18.5% on the year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, placing it among the top performing multistrategy funds. The vehicle, which invests across asset classes and geographies, is D.E. Shaw’s largest, the person said, and has posted just one down year since its debut two decades ago.
The firm’s Oculus Fund, which mostly makes macro investments, gained 15% last year, the person said, making it a standout while many peers in the strategy were tripped up by tumultuous Treasury markets. Oculus is the firm’s second-biggest fund, according to the person, and hasn’t posted an annual loss in its 16-year history.
Hedge funds broadly gained 8.4% last year through November, according to eVestment, which found that multistrategy funds has risen 8.3% and macro funds returned 1.2%.
The D.E. Shaw funds, which are closed to new cash, make both quantitative and human-run investments. The firm plans to return 2021 profits in full to investors in the funds this year.
A spokeswoman for the New York-based business, which managed more than $60 billion at year-end, declined to comment.
By Hema Parmar
