AQR Capital Management

Office address: One Greenwich Plaza, Suite 130, Greenwich, CT 06830
Website: aqr.com
Year established: 1998
Company type: financial services
Employees: 800+
Expertise: quantitative investing, alternative strategies, equity strategies, managed futures, global macro, arbitrage strategies, ESG investing, tax-aware strategies, multi-strategy solutions, asset allocation
Parent company: AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC
Key people: Cliff Asness (managing and founding principal); David Kabiller and John Liew (founding principals); Michele Aghassi, Gregor Andrade, Bradley Asness, and Jeffrey Bolduc (principals)
Financing status: corporation

AQR Capital Management is a quantitative investment firm based in Greenwich, CT. The company runs long-only and alternative strategies in equity, macro, and arbitrage. AQR serves both institutional and individual investors and operates offices in six countries outside the US.

History of AQR Capital Management

The company started in 1998 with just 10 employees in NYC. The four founders were:

1. Cliff Asness
2. John Liew
3. David Kabiller
4. Robert Krail

AQR, short for Applied Quantitative Research, launched with a single hedge fund as its first product. The firm followed up with its first long-only strategy two years later.

A new home and a bold bet on mutual funds

AQR Capital Management moved its headquarters to Greenwich in 2004 as the team kept growing. It opened its first international office in Australia in 2005.

The company took a major step in 2009 when it started offering mutual funds to individual investors. That move gave everyday investors access to strategies that were once limited to institutions.

AQR Capital Management global offices

The firm grew quickly after 2010 and expanded to:

• London in 2011
• Hong Kong in 2016
• Bengaluru in 2018
• Munich in 2019
• Dubai in 2023

The company launched UCITS funds in 2012 to open its strategies to European investors. It also started QUⱯNTA Academy (QUANTA Academy) in 2015 and rolled out its first long/short tax-aware strategy in 2016.

Where the company stands these days

With $51 billion in AUM as of June 2025, AQR Capital Management is one of the largest hedge funds in the world. The firm ranked seventh among managers that together control about $5 trillion in industry assets.

Its AQR Apex Strategy, a multistrategy fund, also posted a 15.6 percent return through September 2025. AQR's gains came as tariff disputes and trade wars created profitable conditions for hedge funds across the industry.

AQR Capital Management products and services

AQR builds every strategy on quantitative research and systematic, factor-based methods:

Alternative strategies

• arbitrage strategies
• equity market neutral
• global macro
• long-short equity
• managed futures
• multi-strategy

Equity and asset allocation strategies

• single-factor
• multi-factor
• portable alpha
• relaxed constraint
• 3-Alpha
• commodities
• multi-asset
• real return strategies

Investment vehicles

• private funds
• separate managed accounts
• collective investment trusts
• US mutual funds
• UCITS
• Australia funds

AQR Capital Management also offers tax-aware strategies that help close the gap between portfolio returns and actual wealth growth. The firm provides ESG options for investors who want to match their portfolios with ESG goals.

Culture and corporate values

According to AQR, its culture encourages new ideas and varied perspectives. It describes a workplace where unconventional thinkers explore how markets work.

AQR Capital Management states that academic rigor and intellectual curiosity guide research, collaboration, and decision-making. Other company focus areas include:

• idea sharing: teams exchange research and feedback through regular discussions
• academic roots: many staff teach or research at leading universities worldwide
• research focus: new signals and studies are built and tested often
• QUANTA Academy: development program supports growth across all career stages

The company also says it supports creativity, self-discovery, and community for employees. According to the firm, programs and benefits aim to support growth in many areas:

• social events: pub quiz, holiday activities, and regular team social gatherings
• everyday perks: ice-cream days, food trucks, ping pong, casual office traditions
• leadership access: pickles n' slaw lunches with senior leaders and teams
• volunteering: group service events plus one paid volunteer day annually
• health benefits: 100 percent paid medical and broad dental and vision coverage
• lifestyle perks: gym support, phone subsidies, stocked pantries, free breakfasts, meal help
• compensation: pay ranges by role with possible annual discretionary bonus
• core benefits: paid time off, 401(k), and other standard employee programs

Overall, MFS Investment Management presents social, wellness, and financial benefits to support employees' lives outside of work.

About Managing Principal Cliff Asness and key people

Cliff Asness is the managing and founding principal of AQR Capital Management. He has over 30 years' experience in the finance industry, 27 of which were spent at AQR. Asness has dual bachelor's degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (summa cum laude in both) and an MBA and PhD from the University of Chicago.

AQR Capital Management is supported by a group of founding and senior principals:

• David Kabiller is founding principal and head of business development, leading global client relationships and growth
• John Liew is founding principal and head of research, overseeing portfolio design and investment frameworks
• Michele Aghassi is a principal and head of sustainable investing, managing equity and sustainable strategies
• Gregor Andrade is a principal and head of NA institutional business development, leading institutional sales and service
• Bradley Asness is a principal and co-COO, managing AQR Capital Management's core infrastructure functions
• Jeffrey Bolduc is a principal and head of trading and portfolio implementation, leading global trading and product implementation

Together, this group directs AQR's research agenda and portfolio design. They also push new ideas like tax-aware strategies that aim to improve client outcomes.

The future at AQR Capital Management

AQR Capital Management has launched new Fusion Funds that use portable alpha in US mutual funds. The firm pairs US stock exposure with hedge fund-style trades and tax-aware design for taxable investors. This move shows how AQR plans to grow by offering leveraged, factor-based strategies in a retail-friendly format.

Building on that product push, the company is also challenging the surge in buffer ETFs. It argued in 2025 that many buffer funds may offer lower returns with more risk than simpler stock-and-bond mixes. By taking a public stance on these structures, AQR signals it will keep testing popular products and steering clients toward what its research sees as more efficient tools.

The latest AQR Capital Management news