Christmas has come early for investors in Citadel.
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The privately-held hedge fund run by founder Ken Griffin has announced plans to return $5 billion in profits earned in 2025 back to investors at the beginning of the New Year, according to multiple media reports.
The firm’s flagship fund, known as Wellington, gained 9.3% this year, underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 index that is up 18% in 2025. Still, Citadel plans to start 2026 with $67 billion in assets under management, down from the $72 billion it currently manages once money is returned to investors.
Dividends for Investors?
Citadel ai-hype">does not distribute profits to investors every year. But since 2017 (and including what’s given back this year), Citadel has returned $32 billion in profits to its investors in what some analysts refer to as a dividend from the hedge fund.
Citadel has been ranked among the most profitable hedge funds based on net gains since inception. Through 2024, the Miami, Florida-based firm has generated $83 billion in net gains since it was founded in 1990. Ken Griffin has been with the hedge fund since its inception.
Is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust a Buy?
As Citadel is not publicly traded, we’ll look at the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the benchmark U.S. index. As one can see in the chart below, the SPY ETF has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 503 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 420 Buy, 75 Hold, and eight Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average SPY price target of $793.12 implies 15.49% upside from current levels.
