Hot launches, macro players, and new blood: Here are the 8 hedge funds to watch in 2020

Ringo Chiu/ZumaPresses

Brevan Howard co-founder and billionaire Alan Howard has changed roles to focus more on trades.

• The hedge funds to watch in 2020 are a mix of big names, newcomers looking to make a splash, and a long-time industry player giving it another shot.
• Big-name macro managers like Brevan Howard will be in the spotlight thanks to the tricky geopolitical puzzle posed by 2020 and the closure of long-time macro player Louis Bacon's Moore Capital.
• Newcomers include former Viking chief investment officer Ben Jacobs and his planned fund Anomaly Capital, as well as former Cantor Fitzgerald boss Shawn Matthews' Hondius Capital.
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Investors are fleeing the hedge fund industry, pulling out billions more every quarter than they are putting in.

But there are still managers who are thriving, as well as big names that are re-entering the space or picking it up again after a tough stretch. Despite the tough launch environment, new funds are popping up with promising pedigrees and big backers.

Still, the realities of the industry have hit both big and small funds. Industry experts - like billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller - expect the manager count to continue to shrink. Returns have largely underwhelmed investors thanks in part to the increasingly efficient public markets, which have forced more funds to dive into the murkier private space, where returns can jump sky-high and then be cut down in record time.

The managers to watch in 2020 are all battling the same headwinds - they are just attacking it from their own perspectives.