Citadel Sells Over $4 Billion of Situational Awareness Bets
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Ken Griffin's Citadel has sold more than $4 billion of stock bets acquired from AI hedge fund Situational Awareness, shedding over 80% of the portfolio's risk. The firm completed nearly 100 block trades, including the largest intraday block trades of the year in 10 names. Citadel Wellington rose 5.94% in July, bringing year-to-date gains to 12.02%.
Key Facts
- Citadel has shed more than 80% of the aggregate risk from the original Situational Awareness portfolio, according to an investor note from Ken Griffin.
- The firm completed nearly 100 block trades totaling over $4 billion in market value.
- Citadel's flagship Wellington fund rose 5.94% in July, bringing year-to-date gains to 12.02%.
- Citadel entered discussions with Situational Awareness on July 29 to acquire a material portion of its holdings.
- Citadel manages about $77 billion in assets under management.
Portfolio Acquisition
Citadel struck a deal late last month to buy stocks from Situational Awareness, a hedge fund led by Leopold Aschenbrenner that was facing margin calls. Aschenbrenner's hedge fund stabilized after reaching the deal with Griffin's firm. On July 29, Citadel entered discussions with Situational Awareness to acquire a material portion of their holdings, a transaction that would strengthen their balance sheet and mitigate the risk of a tail event. In a matter of hours, Citadel's team analyzed and priced the global portfolio.
Risk Distribution
Citadel has completed nearly 100 block trades totaling over $4 billion in market value as it shed positions in the portfolio. Griffin said the trades included the largest intraday block trades of the year in 10 different names. The firm has shed more than 80% of the aggregate risk from the original portfolio. Griffin said the ability to distribute this risk was central to the investment thesis.
Fund Performance
Citadel's flagship hedge fund, Citadel Wellington, rose 5.94% in July. The fund's year-to-date gains reached 12.02%. A Citadel spokesperson declined to comment on the investor letter.
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Citadel Sells Over $4 Billion of Situational Awareness Bets
