In a surprise move, one of the largest hedge fund launches in recent memory is returning money to its investors and striking a deal to invest exclusively for industry titan Millennium Management.

Nearly two years after launching with $5.3 billion in commitments from high-profile investors, including the sovereign wealth funds Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and GIC, Bobby Jain's multistrategy firm, Jain Global, is making a major pivot. The firm will now only manage money for a single client — Jain's former employer, Millennium — according to an internal memo seen by Business Insider and sources with direct knowledge of the deal.

Jain Global, which has six offices and over 400 employees — half of whom are investment professionals — will retain its independence while gaining access to Millennium's platform and resources in a deal that's expected to close in the coming months, according to the memo.

"Under the proposed agreement, Millennium will have exclusive access to the full investment capacity of Jain Global's multi-strategy business," the memo from president and chief operating officer Ajay Nagpal reads. "Jain Global will remain an independent firm, retaining its own investment processes, operating model and talent base."

Representatives for Millennium and Jain declined to comment.

A buzzy hedge fund launch hit by big costs

Jain Global launched in 2024 with enormous ambitions, creating a multistrategy giant from scratch. It manages $6 billion across seven business lines and trades a sweeping array of strategies and asset classes. It has struggled to deliver returns for investors almost from the get-go, under the weight of hefty startup costs.

Jain Global has gained $1.3 billion in gross revenue since inception, according to an investor familiar with the figures. But investors, including bank wealth management platforms and university endowments like UTIMCO, have seen only a fraction of that amount.

Jain gained just 0.5% in six months of trading in 2024. In 2025, its first full year of trading, it produced a net return of 3.7%, trailing its peers as pass-through expenses ate into gross returns in the mid-teens, Business Insider first reported. Multistrat peers delivered double-digit gains each of the last two years on average, according to a benchmark from industry research firm PivotalPath.

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC requested to redeem $250 million earlier this year.

Why its swapping investors for Millennium

Part of the deal rationale is accelerating Jain's growth while helping mitigate some of its costs, unlocking what both parties believe is a promising investment foundation. Jain plans to hire 15 additional portfolio managers by year's end, a person familiar with the matter said.

"The way we have structured our business, our processes, our risk — it all rhymes with Millennium's. That makes this as smooth a transition as possible," Jain, who was co-CIO of Millennium from 2016 to 2022, told staff on an internal call Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.

"For Jain Global, this partnership unlocks the full platform advantages of Millennium, including our infrastructure, resources and stable longer-term capital structure," the Millennium memo says. "We collectively believe this partnership will materially accelerate Jain Global's growth while reinforcing the attributes which have contributed to its early success."

Millennium, one of the world's largest hedge funds at $84 billion in assets under management, has in recent becomes one of the most significant backers of external hedge fund talent, seeding experienced investors with capital, often through separately managed accounts.

A deal with the size and structure proposed with Jain is more rare, echoing its arrangement with WorldQuant, Igor Tulchinsky's systematic spin-out.

Jain was down 2.7% this year through March, but had clawed back in April to a 0.6% gain, Business Insider has learned. A Jain spokesman declined to comment on company performance.