Chris Foster, a senior portfolio manager at Citadel, is departing from Ken Griffin’s hedge fund. Foster's London-based team played a pivotal role in turning Europe’s energy crisis into roughly $2 billion in trading profits for Citadel. His aggressive positioning in European natural gas markets during 2022, a period marked by extreme price volatility due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, significantly contributed to Citadel's record-breaking performance.
Foster's team accounted for approximately $2 billion of the $8 billion in total profits generated by Citadel’s commodities division in 2022. This substantial contribution helped propel Citadel past Bridgewater Associates to become the most profitable hedge fund in history. The firm capitalized on the violent price swings in natural gas when Russia curtailed flows to Europe.
Foster's departure comes as European natural gas markets have stabilized significantly from their 2022 peak. Prices have normalized, storage levels are stable, and the continent has diversified its energy supply away from Russian pipeline gas. As a result, returns across Citadel’s commodities business have moderated in 2023, 2024, and 2025. In other news, Citadel acquired Paloma Natural Gas assets in March 2025 for about $1 billion, rebranding them as Apex Natural Gas. Foster also made headlines with a £25 million donation to Mansfield College at Oxford University.
