Billionaire investor Ken Griffin’s hedge funds at Citadel posted small gains in a volatile August as markets grappled with emerging growth fears.

Citadel’s multistrategy Wellington fund rose about 1% in August, bringing its year-to-date return to 9.9%, according to a person familiar with the returns, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the performance figures are private. All five strategies used in the flagship fund — commodities, equities, fixed income, credit and quantitative — were positive for the month, the person said.

The Miami-based firm’s tactical trading fund rose 1.5% last month and is up 14.5% this year. Its stock fund, which uses a long/short strategy, rose 0.8%, bringing its return to 9.3% through 2024.

Citadel declined to comment. The hedge fund complex had about $63 billion in assets under management as of Aug. 1.

Volatility made a strong comeback in August as recession fears were stoked by a weak July jobs report. On Aug. 5, the S&P 500 fell 3%, its worst day since September 2022. Still, the market quickly recovered, with the equity benchmark ending August up 2.3%. The S&P 500 is now more than 15% ahead through 2024.

Overall, the hedge fund community has recently shifted to defensive mode as macroeconomic uncertainty has increased. Hedge funds net sold off global equities for the seventh straight week recently, driven by selling of communications services plus financial and consumer staples stocks, according to Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data.