Star Trader Chris Rokos Scores £477m Payout as Macro Hedge Fund Surges in Volatile Year
By USA BLOG NEWS | Saturday, January 10, 2026
LONDON — Billionaire hedge fund manager Chris Rokos has once again solidified his reputation as one of the world’s most successful “star traders,” paying himself nearly half a billion pounds last year. The massive payout follows a period of exceptional performance for his firm, Rokos Capital Management (RCM), which navigated wild swings in global equity, bond, and commodity markets to deliver its strongest results since 2009.
According to recent filings with UK Companies House, Rokos Capital paid £477 million to its highest-paid partner for the year ending March 2025. While the documents do not explicitly name the recipient, it is widely understood to be Rokos himself—the firm’s founder, majority owner, and primary risk-taker. This windfall is the second-largest in the firm’s history, trailing only the £509 million payout he received in 2021.
The Numbers: A Record-Breaking Profit Pool
The financial statements reveal a year of dramatic growth for the Mayfair-based firm. As global markets reacted to shifting interest rate expectations and geopolitical tensions, RCM’s revenue more than doubled, soaring from £445 million to £1.2 billion.
Key Financial Highlights:
- Total Partner Profit Pool: Reached a record £940 million.
- Average Partner Count: Remained steady at 23 members, emphasizing the concentration of wealth at the top.
- Firm Assets: RCM now manages approximately $22 billion in assets under management (AUM).
This performance marks a total reversal from the firm’s “annus horribilis” in 2021, when it lost a quarter of its value. Since then, RCM has posted a string of gains: 51% in 2022, followed by 31% in 2024, and a solid 21% return in 2025.
Strategy: The “Lone Wolf” of Macro Trading
In an industry increasingly dominated by “multistrategy” giants like Millennium or Citadel—which employ hundreds of small teams to manage risk—Rokos remains a throwback to the era of the individual star trader.
At Rokos Capital, Chris Rokos is the central decision-maker. While supported by a team of analysts and “investment officers,” he personally oversees the majority of the firm’s directional bets. This high-conviction approach allowed him to capitalize on the “wrong-way” bets of other macro traders regarding the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate path throughout 2024 and 2025.
The “Rokos” Advantage:
- Macro Focus: Bets on broad economic indicators like inflation and currency shifts.
- High Conviction: Willingness to hold massive, leveraged positions in government bonds.
- Client Demand: Last summer, Rokos successfully raised fees, asking investors for a 2.75% management fee and a 25% performance cut—a bold move in a competitive market.
Context: A Golden Era for Global Macro
Rokos was not the only winner in a year defined by volatility. Macro hedge funds broadly enjoyed their best environment in over a decade.
- Bridgewater Associates: Its flagship Pure Alpha fund gained 33%.
- Discovery Capital: Managed by Rob Citrone, returns exceeded 35%.
- Brevan Howard: Rokos’s former firm, however, saw mixed results, with its Master fund returning just 0.75%.
| Hedge Fund | 2024-2025 Return (Est.) |
| Discovery Capital | 35.6% |
| Bridgewater Pure Alpha | 33% |
| Rokos Capital | 31% |
| Brevan Howard Master | 0.8% |
Looking Ahead: The £2.3 Billion Man
With a net worth now estimated at $2.3 billion by Forbes, Chris Rokos remains a reclusive but powerful figure in the City of London. Beyond his trading desk, he is known for his philanthropy and his passion for Old Master art, including the lending of baroque masterpieces to the National Gallery.
As he moves into 2026, the question for investors is whether his individualistic, high-risk style can continue to outperform the more diversified, algorithm-driven competition. For now, with nearly half a billion pounds in his pocket, the “star trader” shows no signs of slowing down.
Official Disclosure & Full Account Details: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/OC398894/filing-history
