Le fondateur de Citadel affirme que l’IA générative n’a pas encore boosté les hedge funds

L'IA générative promettait de révolutionner Wall Street - mais les résultats tangibles se font toujours attendre.

Le constat brutal

Ken Griffin, patron du géant Citadel, tire la sonnette d'alarme : malgré le battage médiatique, l'intelligence artificielle générative n'a pas encore livré les gains de performance promis aux fonds spéculatifs. Les algorithmes sophistiqués peinent à traduire leur potentiel théorique en avantages concurrentiels réels sur les marchés.

Le fossé entre promesse et réalité

Les hedge funds ont investi des milliards dans l'IA, espérant déjouer les tendances du marché et générer des rendements supérieurs. Pourtant, la technologie bute sur la complexité imprévisible des marchés financiers - un terrain où même l'intelligence la plus artificielle peine à battre l'expérience humaine et l'instinct des traders aguerris.

Wall Street apprend la patience

Les gestionnaires découvrent que l'IA nécessite plus de temps et d'ajustements que prévu. Entre les régulateurs qui surveillent et les investisseurs qui s'impatientent, la pression monte pour transformer ces outils high-tech en résultats concrets. Une leçon coûteuse pour une industrie habituée aux solutions rapides.

L'avenir reste ouvert

Personne ne remet en cause le potentiel à long terme de l'IA, mais le chemin vers la rentabilité s'avère plus sinueux que prévu. Comme disait un vieux banquier : « Les ordinateurs peuvent calculer les risques, mais seul un humain sait quand ignorer les calculs. » La technologie évolue - l'excès de confiance, lui, reste une constante dans la finance.

Griffin believes AI is unlikely to displace that many people as projected

Griffin has made similar remarks in the past, suggesting that AI’s usefulness in analyzing investments is only modest and that fears of mass job losses are overblown.

Speaking at the conference, he emphasized that generative AI is unlikely to spark a radical transformation. “It is going to have some effect, but the effects are not transformative and they’re going to be different across sectors,” he said. AI has motivated US companies to invest more in technology and increase the value of CTOs, hastening shifts that were previously stalled, he added.

However, in a surprise move, Citadel actually increased its stake in Nvidia by over four times, purchasing approximately 6.5 million more shares and raising the value of its holding to around $1.5 billion.

Nvidia has emerged as the chip supplier of choice for the AI industry, which has hundreds of billions in wealth and vast stores of data at its disposal.

Citadel has also boosted its stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill by about 167%. However, it scaled down its Palantir stake by about 50%, divesting approximately 640,000 shares. 

Citadel plans to acquire German’s FlexPower

Recently, Citadel also announced a definitive agreement to buy out Hamburg-based power trader FlexPower. The firm’s planned purchase of FlexPower is a strategic investment designed to fuel the company’s expansion. It also serves as a clear message that it won’t let rivals chip away at its dominance in its commodity business.

According to reports, the partnership will integrate Citadel’s data-driven risk and technology expertise with FlexPower’s renewable trading knowledge to reach a broader range of producers and consumers across Europe. Typically, Citadel usually avoids big takeovers, though it snapped up Japanese power trader Energy Grid in 2024 and is setting up a commodities trading center in Australia.

Citadel’s commodities supremo Sebastian Barrack noted that acquiring FlexPower would help Citadel broaden its reach in power trading and build on its strong track record in global energy markets, while backing the development of reliable European power systems.

However, the acquisition is striking in part because Germany hasn’t exactly rolled out the red carpet for major U.S. financial institutions, especially alternative investment firms, and energy policy is always a politically fraught issue. While power trading doesn’t appear politically risky on the surface, some German politicians would no doubt seize the chance to blame an American hedge fund if prices climb.

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