Trading & Options · Profile from Trading and Options Research Companion
Soros Fund Management
The New York firm through which George Soros ran the Quantum Fund — the most famous global macro fund in history — from its roots in the offshore Double Eagle fund (1969) through Soros Fund Management (1973) and the Quantum name (1979), and which since July 2011 has been a family office managing the Soros family's and the Open Society Foundations' money rather than outsiders'. Its story turns on asymmetric macro bets sized to conviction: positions far larger than conventional risk rules allow, taken when a policy or a price looked unsustainable and the downside looked capped. The best-known is the short-sterling trade that ended with the UK leaving the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on Black Wednesday, 16 Sep 1992, led by Quantum's lead portfolio manager Stanley Druckenmiller and usually reported to have made about $1bn (reported; estimates range to ~$1.8bn — see the 1992 move). The same style produced large, documented losses: the October 1987 crash, a ~$600m one-day loss on the yen (14 Feb 1994), ~$2bn in Russia (1998) and the technology round trip that ended Druckenmiller's tenure (Apr 2000). Quantum's long-run return is reported at about 20% a year over four decades (New York Times, 2011, as cited by Wikipedia; gross or net not stated) — a live but unaudited record (rule 4(c)).
At a glance
- Founded
- Double Eagle fund set up at Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder in 1969 with ~$4m, of which ~$250,000 was Soros's (reported); Soros Fund Management formed as a private partnership in 1973, when Soros and Jim Rogers left Bleichroeder (some sources say 1970); the fund renamed Quantum Fund in 1979 (International Directory of Company Histories via referenceforbusiness.com; Wikipedia — secondary)
- Headquarters
- New York City; the funds were offshore, nominally based in Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles (reported); London office in the 1990s (from memory, verify); Hong Kong office closed Nov 2024 (Wikipedia, citing TMTPost)
- Ownership / structure
- Private; a limited liability company from 1997 (reported); since 2011 a family office for George Soros, his family and the Open Society Foundations — no outside investors
- Leadership (2026)
- George Soros (born 12 Aug 1930, Budapest), founder; Dawn Fitzpatrick, chief investment officer since 2017 (hired from UBS Asset Management) and described as CEO and CIO in 2026 (Bloomberg, Mar 2026, reported); Alexander Soros chairs the Open Society Foundations (elected Dec 2022, reported); his title at the firm is reported inconsistently (verify)
- Strategy
- Discretionary global macro (currencies, rates, equity indices, commodities) plus equities, credit, private equity and outside managers; today a diversified endowment-style portfolio for a family office (Global Macro, Discretionary)
- Scale (dated, reported)
- Quantum ~$381m (end-1980), >$1bn (1985), ~$1.5bn (end-1986); Quantum ~$7bn of ~$17bn gross group assets (1996); ~$21.5bn gross across six funds (summer 1998) (all International Directory of Company Histories, secondary); Quantum ~$10bn falling to ~$4bn in about a year to 2000; ~$27.9bn (2011, Institutional Investor Hedge Fund 100); ~$25bn (2023, Bloomberg via Wikipedia)
- Regulators
- SEC (US adviser rules; the 2011 conversion avoided Dodd-Frank registration); foreign regulators where the funds traded; French criminal courts in the Société Générale insider-dealing case (conviction 2002)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Double Eagle and Quantum (1969–79); the Plaza Accord currency bet (1985); the Oct 1987 crash loss; hiring Druckenmiller (1988); Black Wednesday (16 Sep 1992); the Asian crisis (1997); the Russia loss (1998); the tech losses and Druckenmiller's exit (Apr 2000); the Société Générale conviction (2002–11); conversion to a family office (2011)
10 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1973
Founding Soros Fund and Quantum
Founding or fund launch
1985
Plaza Accord Currency Bet
Large trade or position
1987
Crash Loss and Futures Liquidation
Loss, drawdown or blow-up response (failure)
1988
Druckenmiller Hired and the Coach Model
Hiring, spin-out or partner departure
1992
Black Wednesday Short Sterling
Large trade or position
1997
Asian Crisis and the Mahathir Dispute
Large trade or position / political and regulatory risk
1998
Russia Loss
Loss, drawdown or blow-up response (failure)
2000
Tech Losses and Druckenmiller Exit
Loss, drawdown or blow-up response / restructuring / partner departure (failure)
2002
Societe Generale Insider Dealing Conviction
Regulatory, enforcement or legal action (failure)
2011
Family Office Conversion
Capital raise, fee change or return of outside capital / restructuring