JaneStreettook a $15 billion hit in July from its exposure to AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness and other tech stocks that were battered by the market selloff, according to two people familiar with the matter and a note seen by Reuters.
The secretive WallStreettrading giant, however,has generatedtrading revenue of more than$40 billion year to date, one of the sources said, easily outstripping tradingrevenueat the largest banks and othermarket-makingrivals.
In July, Situational, which is run by Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher, offloaded the bulk of its stock portfolio in what was a fire sale to billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel after being hurt by the AI selloff thattriggeredmargin calls at the firm. Situational countsJaneStreetamong its investors.
In anote toemployees on Friday, executives atJaneStreetsaid July was a “bad month” for the firm, blaming the drawdown at Situationalfor contributingto its poor performance during the month.
“We have an investment in Situational Awareness, an externally managed AI-focused hedge fund, that became large by performing well in the first half of the year. They had a large drawdown that left our stake about flat on the year, but still up over the entire period we have been invested,” according to the note to employees that was seen by Reuters.
The firm also took a hit from its long positions innon-AIstocks in Asia, many of which had outperformed the markets earlier during the year.
“We largely lost on the same portfolio of trades that had strong outperformance in the second quarter. AI-exposed stocks were down a lot during July, several of the largest memory and semiconductor stocks were down around 50%,”JaneStreetsaid in the note.
JaneStreetsaid it would be “more selective” about risk, adding that the firm has “closed a significant portion of our risk in the specific areas we lost on in July, and have also reduced risk taking in other strategies.”
JaneStreetcould not be immediately reached for comment.
The secretive WallStreettrading giant, however,has generatedtrading revenue of more than$40 billion year to date, one of the sources said, easily outstripping tradingrevenueat the largest banks and othermarket-makingrivals.
In July, Situational, which is run by Leopold Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher, offloaded the bulk of its stock portfolio in what was a fire sale to billionaire Ken Griffin’s Citadel after being hurt by the AI selloff thattriggeredmargin calls at the firm. Situational countsJaneStreetamong its investors.
In anote toemployees on Friday, executives atJaneStreetsaid July was a “bad month” for the firm, blaming the drawdown at Situationalfor contributingto its poor performance during the month.
“We have an investment in Situational Awareness, an externally managed AI-focused hedge fund, that became large by performing well in the first half of the year. They had a large drawdown that left our stake about flat on the year, but still up over the entire period we have been invested,” according to the note to employees that was seen by Reuters.
The firm also took a hit from its long positions innon-AIstocks in Asia, many of which had outperformed the markets earlier during the year.
“We largely lost on the same portfolio of trades that had strong outperformance in the second quarter. AI-exposed stocks were down a lot during July, several of the largest memory and semiconductor stocks were down around 50%,”JaneStreetsaid in the note.
JaneStreetsaid it would be “more selective” about risk, adding that the firm has “closed a significant portion of our risk in the specific areas we lost on in July, and have also reduced risk taking in other strategies.”
JaneStreetcould not be immediately reached for comment.
About The Author
