Chris Rokos’s Hedge Fund Soars a Record 51% in Turn of Fortunes

(Bloomberg) — Chris Rokos produced his best-ever gains last year in a dramatic change of fortunes for the hedge fund manager.

(Bloomberg) — Chris Rokos produced his best-ever gains last year in a dramatic change of fortunes for the hedge fund manager.

The $15.5 billion Rokos Macro Fund he leads surged 51% in 2022, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The return was his best since 2015 when he began trading for his eponymous firm in London.

Rokos declined to comment through a spokesman on the performance

The returns were in stark contrast with the record 26% decline the previous year when Rokos was wrong-footed by the wild swings in bond markets as speculation rose that central banks would raise rates faster than expected to contain inflation. Part of his 2021 losses were tied to wagers that the difference between short- and long-term UK and US government bond yields would widen. They tightened instead.

Rokos, 52, is among a cohort of macro hedge funds such as Crispin Odey and Said Haidar who benefited from their short bets on bonds as interest rates began to rise in response to soaring inflation last year. The fund’s returns were much steadier this year and it made money in every month but one, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

The investment firm is tapping into the rising demand for macro hedge funds and is in talks with investors to grow assets by as much as $3 billion through a combination of new cash and existing backers reinvesting their profits, Bloomberg reported last month.

Rokos, who has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, made a name for himself by generating $4 billion in profits at Brevan Howard Asset Management from 2004 to 2012. 

He has already exceeded those gains at his own investment firm, which he started in 2015 with initial capital from investors including Blackstone Group Inc.

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