How 3 Billionaire Investors Used AI To Double Their Fortunes In A Year

Last year, Applied Quantitative Research (AQR), a Greenwich, Connecticut-based firm, saw its assets under management increase by $73 billion to $187 billion, which doubled the net worths of its three billionaire founders. Cliff Asnes, AQR's chief investment officer, is now worth $6.3 billion, while co-founders John Louu and David Cavaler each exceed $2 billion. The founders, who started AQR in 1998 after working at Goldman Sachs, are heavily invested in the firm's funds, linking their fortunes to its performance. AQR's Apex Multistrategy Fund returned 19.4% last year, and its Value Long Short Fund returned 16.7%. Both funds have averaged a 16.6% annualized return over the past five years, outperforming the S&P 500's 14.4%. Additionally, its Equity Market Neutral Fund gained 26.5% in 2025, averaging 19.6% annually over five years, significantly better than its category's 8% average. AQR's recent growth, marking a recovery from managing under $100 billion four years ago, is attributed to fully adopting AI and machine learning in research and trading. The firm now uses machine learning to detect complex factor interactions, recalibrate weights in real-time, and mine data. Analysts also use natural language processing tools like ChatGPT for data analysis. Although AQR was late to adopt AI compared to peers, Yale finance professor Brian Kelly, who joined in 2018, advocated for complex machine learning models in stock prediction. Despite the firm's increased reliance on AI, insiders maintain that human input remains crucial. A significant portion of AQR's growth now comes from financial advisors seeking tax-friendly funds for wealthy individuals, rather than traditional institutional clients. This shift made the advisory client base its largest source of inflows. AQR's Flex Long Short investment vehicle, which provides tax-advantaged portfolios, nearly doubled its assets in nine months, now accounting for almost a quarter of AQR's total assets. This growth is driven by lower fees and demand from new millionaires seeking to secure wealth. AQR's continued success depends on its models outperforming the market and competing hedge funds using AI quant strategies.