Citadel’s flagship Wellington fund gained 5.9% in July after the hedge fund purchased billions of dollars of AI related stocks from Leopold Aschenbrenner’s troubled Situational Awareness fund.
The monthly gain brought Wellington’s return for 2026 to 12%, according to people familiar with the results. Citadel manages approximately $71 billion in client assets.
Wellington had been roughly flat for July through July 24 as a sharp decline in semiconductor and AI related stocks weighed on hedge fund portfolios. The fund’s performance accelerated during the final days of the month following the acquisition of Situational Awareness’s positions.
Situational Awareness had generated a 439% return from the beginning of the year through June using leveraged bets on AI companies. The strategy reversed sharply in July, with the fund falling around 67% as several of its largest positions declined and pressure from lenders increased.
The fund subsequently sold most of its roughly $16 billion public equity portfolio to Citadel through a process completed in less than 24 hours. Citadel acquired some of the positions at a discount of more than 10%.
