Hedge funds managed strong returns in 2025 despite uneven markets and geopolitical stress. Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images Big-name hedge funds mostly had strong years, led by managers such as Michael Gelband's ExodusPoint and D.E. Shaw. It was a choppy year for funds, which battled markets strained by geopolitical stress from tariffs and international conflicts. Most funds still trailed the S&P 500's 16.4% return on the year, however. Artificial intelligence spikes and sell-offs, market-rattling tariffs from the world's largest economy, mysterious quant losses — hedge funds battled a lot in 2025. When the dust settled, the biggest names in the $5 trillion industry posted strong numbers last year. Michael Gelband's ExodusPoint, which was the largest launch in industry history in 2018, had its best year on record, a person close to the New York-based manager told Business Insider. The firm was up 18% for the year after posting a 2.1% return in December. Balyasny, Dmitry Balyasny's $31 billion manager, made 16.7% in 2025, a person familiar with the firm's returns said. D.E. Shaw's flagship multistrategy fund, Composite, was up 18.5%. These funds, along with Ari Glass's Boothbay, and AQR's $6.8 billion multistrategy Apex fund, bested the S&P 500's 16.4% gain on the year, and many managers put up returns in the mid-teens that only slightly trailed the index. Some of the industry's biggest firms have lagged smaller peers throughout last year, as Business Insider reported. Izzy Englander's $83.5 billion Millennium, for example, was up 10.5% in 2025, following a 1.9% gain last month, according to a person close to the manager. Ken Griffin's $72 billion Citadel gained 1.8% in December and ended 2025 up 10.2%, a person familiar with the Miami-based manager said. The managers in the table below declined to comment. Returns will be added as they are learned. FundDecember performance2025 performance AQR Apex3%19.6% D.E. Shaw CompositeN/A18.5% Dymon Asia1.9%18% ExodusPoint2.1%18% Boothbay1.2%17.9% Balyasny1.2%16.7% Walleye2%15.5% LMR3.4%12.7% Schonfeld Partners2.3%12.5% Pinpoint Asset Management1.1%11.6% Millennium1.9%10.5% Citadel Wellington1.8%10.2% Read the original article on Business Insider