Who We Are

Ken Griffin reads a Forbes article that inspires him to begin trading convertible bonds. He persuades his Harvard dorm’s janitor to allow him to place a satellite dish on the rooftop to access real-time information.

Already managing $265,000 from friends and family, Ken Griffin’s short position pays off when the stock market crashes on Black Monday.

This eventually propels Ken to manage nearly $1M, and his returns attract the attention of hedge fund pioneer Frank Meyer, co-founder of Chicago-based firm Glenwood Partners.

Rather than accepting a role at an established institution in New York, Ken’s entrepreneurial ambitions lead him to join Frank at Glenwood Partners, where he’s allocated money to manage.

Ken’s success at Glenwood Partners leads him start his own fund, Wellington Financial Group (now Citadel Wellington LLC), with $4.6 million in capital. The fund focuses on convertible arbitrage.

The fund is rebranded from Wellington Financial to Citadel.

Launches a merger arbitrage strategy to capture opportunities created by the wave of merger and acquisition activity.

Launches statistical arbitrage, a trading strategy that uses statistical models and algorithms to profit from pricing inefficiencies in financial markets.

The firm welcomes their first full-time class of college graduates.

Citadel enhances the liquidity provisions of its multi-strategy funds, increasing capital stability. That year, Long Term Capital Management collapses, creating market instability and leading to significant redemptions. With its stable capital base, Citadel takes advantage of market dislocations.

Citadel’s multistrategy funds become the first hedge fund to receive an investment-grade rating from S&P, a rating which has been maintained for 25 years.

Launches equities strategy which has grown into one of the firm’s largest today, powered by four specialized teams grounded by a shared commitment to deep fundamental research and financial analysis.

Within days of the collapse of Enron, then the world’s largest energy trading firm, Ken Griffin leads an intensive effort to recruit hundreds of traders, quantitative researchers, meteorologists and other top talent at Enron and, more broadly, across the energy trading industry. These early hires formed the foundation for the commodities strategy that would grow into one of the industry’s leading teams.

Citadel Securities is founded as options markets shift to electronification. Eventually it becomes a leading market maker in liquidity provision to retail and institutional clients.

Establishes global presence by opening the firm’s first physical office in the APAC region in Hong Kong.

Citadel executes the first-ever debt placement by a major hedge fund in a $500 million public bond sale, considered a groundbreaking move at the time.

Executes one of the biggest commodity transactions in history through the acquisition of Amaranth Advisors’ energy portfolio, demonstrating Citadel’s capabilities as a market leader.

Further demonstrating its capabilities and leveraging its reputation as a scalable operator, Citadel executes one of the largest trades in history by purchasing Sowood Capital’s distressed assets during the 2007 financial crisis. While other firms stop working for the night, Citadel assembles a team that makes an offer at 3:30 in the morning.

Following the devastating losses of the financial crisis, Citadel’s resilience is fortified by the investment of $500 million by principals of the firm. This commitment to forge ahead is a promise to capital partners to emerge stronger than ever.

Institutional Investor’s Alpha creates the Hedge Fund Hall of Fame, naming Ken Griffin among the 14 inaugural inductees. He is recognized alongside other hedge fund legends for transforming a cottage business into a global industry.

Launches macro strategy.

Surveyor Capital is launched, leveraging Citadel’s proprietary, market-neutral risk framework with the aim of building portfolios that minimize broad market exposures.

Launches quantitative strategies.

Citadel clears its high-water mark, honoring their commitment to investors and delivering on their promise made in the wake of the financial crisis a few years earlier.

Named to Risk Magazine’s 25 Firms of the Future list.

Institutional Investor magazine awards Citadel Multistrategy Hedge Fund Manager of the Year, a recognition it receives for six of the next ten years.

Citadel is ranked best overall hedge fund by Hedge Funds America.

Establishes Citadel Energy Marketing, a physical natural gas business built on deep cross-commodity insight across gas, power, environmental products, and weather — growing Citadel’s leadership in the evolving energy markets.

Citadel’s revolutionary Risk Center is recognized as “Best Risk Management Initiative” by American Financial Technology Awards, the first of several recognitions in the coming years for risk management. The Risk Center provides real-time, interactive visualization of portfolio risk exposures and guideline utilizations. The firm designed and built the hardware, software, and data analytics, resulting a in a library of hundreds of risk data visualizations manipulated by touch.

Institutional Investor magazine awards Citadel Institutional Hedge Fund Manager of the Year, a recognition it receives for multiple subsequent years.

Following being named “Top 10 Great Place to Work in Finance” by Fortune the year prior, the firm is named “Best Workplaces for Recent Grads” by Fortune magazine and Great Place to Work. Among 600 companies evaluated, Citadel is recognized as one of the country’s 50 best workplaces offering a fair, supportive and meaningful environment for those entering the workforce for the first time.

Citadel is ranked the top five most profitable hedge fund manager of all time by LCH Investments, which tracks funds’ annual returns and cumulative lifetime gains. At a town hall meeting for the firm, Ken Griffin challenges team members be in the top three by 2020. That goal was reached the very next year. Citadel goes on to achieve the number one position by 2023.

Launches Ashler Capital, which rapidly scales to become a cornerstone equities strategy at the firm.

Recognized by LinkedIn as one of the top companies to work for in the U.S. The list is formulated based on interest in the company, engagement with employees, job demand and employee retention.

Citadel Securities successfully—and in record time—creates a trading floor “bubble” in Florida during the pandemic for continuity in a time of uncertainty. As a result, Citadel establishes the only in-person internship in the world for 100 of its interns to benefit from live collaboration, including working side-by-side with full-time employees.

Posting record breaking profits with the largest gain by any hedge fund in history, Citadel is recognized as the number one most profitable hedge fund of all time by LCH Investments. It maintains that position.

Source: LCH Investments NV estimates, Great Money Managers by Net Gains since inception to 12/31/2024.

Citadel establishes the firm’s global headquarters in Miami, referred to as Wall Street South and a global destination for talent, businesses and culture. Plans for a new tower along Biscayne Bay are revealed, with construction set to begin in 2025.

LinkedIn names the firm a top 50 company to work for in the U.S., celebrating its investment in their employees through opportunities and resources to learn, grow and succeed.

The firm celebrates 35 years of delivering industry-leading returns for its capital partners.

Reaches $65B in AUM