At $6 billion Schonfeld Strategic Advisors, humans outperformed the machines in 2020 as the firm raised money for its stock-pickers

<p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5d49ce08100a240ab36b6512-1000/schonfeld.jpg" border="0" alt="Steven Schonfeld, Ryan Tolkin, Andrew Fishman" data-mce-source="Michael Nagle/Getty" data-mce-caption="Steven Schonfeld and his senior management continue to grow their team."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>In a reflection of the overall industry's 2020, the humans at $6 billion Schonfeld Strategic Advisors outperformed the machines.</p><p>Schonfeld's $2.3 billion Fundamental Equity fund, which includes dozens of stock-trading teams but no quant strategies, made 14.% in 2020 thanks to a 4.4% return in December, according to a fact sheet the firm sent to investors seen by Insider. The only month&nbsp;the fund lost money was in March, when it fell by 4.3%.&nbsp;</p><p>This performance beats Schonfeld's flagship fund, the Strategic Partners fund, which runs nearly $4 billion. That fund returned 9.8% in 2020, according to a recent Bloomberg <a href="https://newsletters.briefs.bloomberg.com/document/KhTON2tRy6lIwTGjAmMpbQ--_k1z416hrxn5ztiibhk/europe">report</a>, and made 4.8% in December.&nbsp;</p><p>The firm declined to comment on performance.&nbsp;</p><p><em><strong>See more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/under-the-radar-hedge-funds-crushed-2020-performance-2021-1">Here are under-the-radar hedge fund managers who crushed 2020, including a new launch from a former Viking Global portfolio manager and a comeback from a one-time Goldman partner</a><br></strong></em></p><p>The Strategic Partners fund includes the firm many quant strategies as well as fundamental stock-pickers. The firm was not immune to some of the troubles that quant funds ran into last March, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/quant-hedge-funds-are-getting-slammed-thanks-to-coronavirus-volatility-2020-3">when it fell by more than 10%</a> thanks to the volatility from the pandemic. Major quants like Bridgewater, Renaissance Technologies, and Winton Group never recovered from the tough first quarter, and lost money on the year.&nbsp;</p><p>Human-run stock-picking strategies had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-managers-to-watch-2021-coatue-bridgewater-launches-emerging-2020-12">a banner year</a> though. Managers like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dan-sundheim-profile-d1-viking-billionaire-net-worth-bio-performance-2020-10'r=d1-teaser">D1 Capital</a>, Coatue, Tiger Global, and more put up massive returns, fueled by gains in growth stocks and private market companies.&nbsp;</p><p>Schonfeld's Fundamental Equity fund, which the firm was fundraising for last year, beat the average hedge fund, which made 11.6% on the year, according to Hedge Fund Research.</p><p>Between its flagship fund and the fundamental-only strategy, Schonfeld raised $1 billion, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-09/schonfeld-raises-more-than-1-billion-for-flagship-hedge-fund">Bloomberg piece</a> from last summer.&nbsp;</p><p>Insider obtained a copy of the fundraising pitchdeck the firm was using for the Fundamental Equity fund last year, and the 24-page pitch ran <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-schonfelds-pitch-for-its-22-billion-fundamental-equity-fund-2020-11">through fees, team composition, and strategy goals.</a> The fact sheet sent to investors recently does show a small difference from the pitchdeckthe sector with biggest chunk of the portfolio now is financials at 18% followed by information technology, which used to be the largest sector exposure.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-schonfelds-pitch-for-its-22-billion-fundamental-equity-fund-2020-11" >Schonfeld is raising money for its $2.2 billion fundamental equity fund. Here are the highlights of its 24-page pitch to investors laying out fees, performance, and personnel.</a></strong></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-seth-klarman-baupost-2020-performance-hedge-fund-2021-1" >Billionaire Seth Klarman's Baupost returned less than 5% in 2020, failing to break double-digits returns in what's been called the best year for hedge funds since 2009</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/schonfeld-fundamental-fund-outperformed-quant-offering-performance-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-travel-during-coronavirus-outbreak-planes-airports-virus-2020-3">Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak</a></p>
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