Radient: Fresh Launches, Half-Year in Review

September 5, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Hedge fund share of new launches rose in 2025, while VC eased from 2024 levels.
  • Real Estate remains the #1 sector target, but Digital Assets funds more than doubled from 2024.
  • Strategy mix is broader in 2025: Multi‑Strategy, Global Macro, and Quant lead new hedge fund strategies.
  • USA continues to dominate new fund launches by >90%, with Cayman Islands a distant #2.

1. Hedge Fund Launches Triple; VC Still Leads but Loses Share

In H1 2025, hedge funds accounted for about 9% of first-time launches, with their count more than tripling as compared to first half of previous year. Established managers such as AQR, Arrowstreet Capital, Neuberger Berman, and  Clarion Partners were among the firms expanding their hedge fund offerings. Notably, Arrowstreet—founded by MIT professors—remains one of the most prominent quant-driven hedge funds. Alongside these giants, a new wave of emerging managers launched new funds — Islander Capital Partners, EdgePoint Alpha Capital, Arkhouse, and Mattan Capital Partners.

Venture Capital (VC) accounted for the largest share of first-time launches in 2024, representing nearly 50% of all new funds. Much of the activity came from managers rolling out multiple series of vehicles — Mana Ventures alone launched around 100 new funds. On the larger end of the VC spectrum, Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital, Y Combinator, Lightspeed Ventures, and Lone Pine Capital were the leading firms.

 

 

Take: Venture Capital continues to dominate fund formation, but the real story of 2025 is hedge funds. Their count of new launches nearly tripled as compared to first half of previous year, suggesting managers are re-entering the market with liquid, trading-oriented strategies after a quieter 2023–24 cycle. This may reflect investor appetite for nimbleness amid higher volatility and shifting macro conditions.

2. Strategies: Broader mix; Multi‑Strategy, Macro, and Quant lead

Multi-Strategy Managers

Firms such as AQR, Alpha Square Management, Catalio Capital, and  TFG Asset Management are among the wave of managers launching multi-strategy vehicles in H1 2025.

Global Macro Managers

A new wave of Global Macro launches in 2025 includes Zweig-DiMenna Associates, Anchor Capital, Outrunner Capital, New Mountain Capital, and First Turn Management. Zweig-DiMenna stands out among them - founded in 1984, it's one of the longest-lived hedge funds with deep roots in both long/short equity and absolute return macro investing

Quantitative / Algorithmic Managers

On the quant front, experienced firms like Ravenswood Partners, Hillsdale Investment Management, Grain Management, and AQR again made new filings. Notably, AQR has escalated its adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning— what co-founder Cliff Asness has described as "surrendering more to the machines" — deploying algorithmic models more broadly across asset classes

*The chart highlights the top five strategies among the 20 tracked in our analysis

 

Take: Hedge fund launches in 2025 show a clear tilt toward adaptability and tech-driven edges. Multi-Strategy remains the anchor, while Global Macro’s rebound highlights demand for funds that can play across asset classes in an uncertain rate/geopolitical environment. Quant funds are also growing in numbers, as managers lean into systematic and AI-enhanced approaches. The result is a far more diversified hedge fund playbook than in 2024.

3. Sectors: Real Estate stays #1; Digital Assets jumps

In 2025, several notable real estate–focused funds were launched by leading managers, underscoring continued allocator interest in the asset class. Among the largest were KKR Asia Real Estate Partners II SBS L.P., PGIM Luxembourg, Oaktree Real Estate Opportunities Fund IX Feeder (Cayman) 2, L.P., Blue Owl Real Estate Fund VII (A) L.P., and Corebridge U.S. Real Estate Fund V (A), L.P. These vehicles highlight the breadth of strategies across global, opportunistic, and core-plus real estate.

A number of new offerings also came to market with substantial minimum investment requirements, signaling their institutional focus. For example, StepStone Real Estate Insurance Fund Series Fund set a minimum commitment of $100 million, while Broadview Real Estate Partners Fund II, L.P. required $20 million, and BGO Strategic Capital Partners Real Estate Series launched with a $10 million minimum.

In 2025, several marquee managers made bold moves into the digital asset arena by launching new dedicated funds, including TrueBridge Capital Partners, Graybeard BTC Management, Coinfund Management LLC,  StepStone Group LP, Franklin Advisers, Inc., and Imperium Investment Management, LLC.

TrueBridge Capital Partners, traditionally known for its venture capital and secondary investments, made headlines in 2024 with its first-ever “Blockchain I” fund, raising $62 million to tap into early-stage blockchain ventures and technologies. 

StepStone Group, meanwhile has been building digital infrastructure as much as digital strategies: the firm recently entered into a partnership with Euroclear-backed fintech platform Goji to improve digital access and onboarding for its private markets funds, signaling its readiness to deliver digital asset products to a broader investor universe.

Change in #Funds Launched by Sector - 2025 (H1) vs 2024 (H1)


Take: Real Estate remains the comfort zone for capital deployment, but the explosive growth is in Digital Assets — where first-time launches have more than tripled. Even with regulatory overhangs, investor demand for blockchain and crypto-linked strategies has pushed the sector into the #2 spot.

4. Jurisdictions: USA still ~92%+, Cayman a steady #2

 

Top Jurisdictions (US Excluded) -  2024 (H1) vs 2025 (H1)



Take: The US continues to be the home base for nearly all new fund launches (~13k funds), reflecting both manager preference and investor familiarity. Cayman, meanwhile, solidifies its status as the global hub for offshore feeder and master structures, while the British Virgin Islands’ sharp rise in 2025 hints at managers seeking more flexible domiciles for niche structures.

Key Takeaways

  • Hedge fund share of new launches rose in 2025, while VC eased from 2024 levels.
  • Real Estate remains the #1 sector target, but Digital Assets funds more than doubled from 2024.
  • Strategy mix is broader in 2025: Multi‑Strategy, Global Macro, and Quant lead new hedge fund strategies.
  • USA continues to dominate new fund launches by >90%, with Cayman Islands a distant #2.

 

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About the Author

Radient AI

Radient applies cutting-edge technology to dramatically simplify asset management workflows around investment decisions, due diligence, process automation and industry research. It combines financial data acquisition, risk-based investment analytics, portfolio construction, with tailored investment insights and recommendations.