- In a memo to employees of Griffin’s $30 billion hedge fund, the billionaire wrote that the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus is a “global health crisis.”
- Griffin, in a talk with Goldman Sachs president John Waldron in early February, said the coronavirus, which was then mostly in Asia, would spread across borders and “will be a challenge for the world
to navigate this over the course of the next several months.” - The firm has managed the volatility in global markets, despite losing hundreds of millions in the middle of March due to relative-value trades gone wrong. The firm was up 1.2% for March and 5.7% for the year, despite equity markets suffering one of the worst first quarters on record.
- Read the full memo below.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Billionaire Ken Griffin’s memo to employees of his $30 billion hedge fund did not mince words.
The note, sent to Citadel employees last Friday, called the coronavirus pandemic “an unprecedented moment of global distress as the entire world faces this common invisible threat.”
“Few of us have ever faced this level of uncertainty in our lifetimes, and the weight of a myriad of new demands will impact each of us differently. We will all have our moments,” the memo reads.
Citadel has handled the volatility in financial markets well, despite getting dinged in relative value trades in the middle of March that lost the firm hundreds of millions of dollars. The firm ended March up 1.2% after paring back some of the losses from the relative-value trades, pushing gains for the year up to 5.7%, a source familiar with the situation said.
Griffin was quick to identify the threat of the virus, calling it a global health crisis in early February at an Economic Club of New York talk before it had spread much outside of Asia. Citadel sent millions to China at the beginning of February, as well as medical supplies.
“Take time to make sure your parents — and if you are fortunate enough, your grandparents — and those most at-risk in your lives are well cared for.”
Read Ken Griffin’s full memo:
Dear Colleagues,
In recent months, we have all been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. We are in an unprecedented moment of global distress as the entire world faces this common invisible threat. And when the chaos settles, we will be measured by the character we exhibit in our work and in our communities.
In the blink of an eye, we now find ourselves juggling countless new demands on our time, mental capacity and emotional energy. Amid great uncertainty, it is natural to feel thrust into a tailspin. Few of us have ever faced this level of uncertainty in our lifetimes, and the weight of a myriad of new demands will impact each of us differently. We will all have our moments.
From the outset, we have actively engaged with community leaders, policy makers and political leaders – all the way up to the highest levels of government – to provide assistance during this crisis. We were one of the first firms to mobilize significant on-the-ground aid and provided early funding for vaccine research. As the effects of the pandemic have since stretched far and wide, we have continued to engage in our communities to help our neighbors in need, from combating food insecurity and promoting the safety of our first responders, to advancing testing and treatment methods.
Now let me make this distinctly personal. We are in the midst of a global health crisis. Take time to make sure your parents – and if you are fortunate enough, your grandparents – and those most at-risk in your lives are well cared for. Likewise, as the effects of this situation persist in our communities, look for opportunities to support local businesses and to help those who are struggling. Treat others with respect, and go out of your way to show kindness to your neighbors. This has always been core to our culture.
This must be a moment we look back on with pride – a moment when we looked out for each other and put the interests of our community and our team first. This is what it means to be part of Team Citadel. Let us go forward with character, integrity and compassion – now is when it matters most.
Sincerely,
Ken
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
