The Top 50’s gains of more than 11% in 2025 kept pace with its historic annualized returns, which dates back 17 years. Four strategies collectively matched the market’s gains, with three smaller veteran funds each having delivered gains north of 30%. The dozen credit and fixed income managers, the largest constituent strategy in the survey, however, weighed down the group’s returns with average gains of just 6.3%.

The big concern: concentrated global equity exposure, high-net leverage, and sudden seismic events like the Supreme Court’s ruling against the president’s tariffs should remind that current market and hedge fund exuberance is fueling misplaced expectations that are focused on perpetuation of current trends rather than history.