# TCI Fund Management
TCI Fund Management (TCI) is a London-based hedge fund manager founded in June 2003 by [Christopher Hohn](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-hohn), which runs a highly concentrated, value-oriented portfolio of global equities and engages with the management of the companies it owns.[1](https://www.tcifund.com/) The firm managed about $77 billion in assets as of early 2026, and in 2025 it produced an estimated $18.9 billion of net gains for investors, the largest single-year gain on record for a hedge fund according to Edmond de Rothschild's annual ranking.[2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/) TCI's endowment and, in its early years, a share of its fees flowed to the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), a charity endowed by Hohn from his hedge fund; CIFF today holds more than $4 billion in active charitable grants.[3](https://ciff.org/our-story/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | June 2003, by Christopher Hohn, London[1](https://www.tcifund.com/) |
| Scale | About $77 billion under management, including $14 billion of internal capital (2025-26)[2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/) • [4](https://www.netinterest.co/p/the-last-active-manager) |
| Strategy | Concentrated long-only equity, top five holdings roughly 70-85% of assets, holding periods near a decade[5](https://thetechnocratictyranny.com/PDFS/Harvard_Report_Hedge_fund_HBS.pdf) • [4](https://www.netinterest.co/p/the-last-active-manager) |
| Long-term return | Roughly 18 percent annualised since inception, about double the S&P 500 over the same period[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) |
| Record year | 2025: $18.9 billion of net investor gains, a reported net return of about 27 percent[2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/) |
| Worst year | 2008: a 43 percent drawdown during the global financial crisis[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) |
| Regulation | Authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority as a full-scope UK AIFM[7](https://www.tcifund.com/files/regulatorydisclosures/TCI%20Master%20TCFD%20Entity%20Report%20-%2020251231.pdf) |
| Philanthropy | $1.9 billion donated to CIFF by 2014; $797 million of charitable donations in 2025[8](https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/tci-hedge-fund-in-britain-ends-ties-to-charitable-arm/) • [9](https://www.cityam.com/billionaire-hohn-handed-60m-dividend-and-ramps-up-philanthropy/) |
## Founding, ownership and regulation
Christopher Hohn launched The Children's Investment Fund in 2003 with a structure unusual for the industry: a portion of the management fee was contractually directed to a charity, CIFF.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) The fund gathered about $470 million in its first month, January 2004, and had reached $19 billion by May 2008.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) The management company, TCI Fund Management Limited, operates from Clifford Street in London and is the second-largest hedge fund firm in the UK.[10](https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/)
TCI Fund Management Limited has two directors, Hohn and Angus Milne; Hohn holds sole responsibility for portfolio management, and Milne holds sole responsibility for risk management, independently of Hohn.[7](https://www.tcifund.com/files/regulatorydisclosures/TCI%20Master%20TCFD%20Entity%20Report%20-%2020251231.pdf) The firm is authorized and regulated by the [Financial Conduct Authority](https://www.edgepedia.org/financial-conduct-authority) as a full-scope UK alternative investment fund manager with an additional permission for managing investments.[7](https://www.tcifund.com/files/regulatorydisclosures/TCI%20Master%20TCFD%20Entity%20Report%20-%2020251231.pdf) In 2014 TCI added a real estate lending business, the TCI Real Estate Partners Lending Funds, which invest alongside CIFF and focus on first-mortgage and senior-secured lending on prime assets in major North American and European cities.[1](https://www.tcifund.com/)
## Investment strategy and fees
TCI describes itself as a value-oriented, fundamental investor in strong businesses with sustainable competitive advantages, using a private equity approach: deep research, constructive engagement with management, and a long-term horizon, with activism when appropriate.[1](https://www.tcifund.com/) The model differs from typical hedge fund trading in three ways.
**Concentration.** Hohn told prospective clients early on that the top five holdings would be 70 to 80 percent of the fund, built from roughly ten high-conviction ideas a year.[5](https://thetechnocratictyranny.com/PDFS/Harvard_Report_Hedge_fund_HBS.pdf) The practice has continued: at the end of 2021 the $44.4 billion US-listed portfolio held just 13 stocks, and at the end of 2025 the five largest US stocks were nearly 85 percent of US assets.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) • [11](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/after-record-year-tci-hits-speed-bump)
**Holding period.** Positions are held an average of eight years, some for 13, and Hohn has not put on a short for three years; the investment team numbers seven or eight people.[4](https://www.netinterest.co/p/the-last-active-manager) This low turnover is matched on the client side: TCI required investors to commit capital for three to five years when the normal European redemption notice was quarterly.[5](https://thetechnocratictyranny.com/PDFS/Harvard_Report_Hedge_fund_HBS.pdf)
**Fees.** The original structure charged a 1 percent management fee, about half the industry average, plus an incentive fee of 13 to 17 percent depending on the capital commitment period; 0.5 percent of committed capital went to CIFF, with a further 0.5 percent if net returns exceeded 11 percent.[5](https://thetechnocratictyranny.com/PDFS/Harvard_Report_Hedge_fund_HBS.pdf) • [12](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/business/worldbusiness/26hohn.html) The economics have since favored the firm itself: turnover exceeded $1 billion (£740 million) for the first time in the year to March 2025, up from $844 million the previous year, and Hohn took a £60 million dividend in 2025 after a pandemic-era dividend of $689.6 million believed to be the largest of its kind to a UK individual.[9](https://www.cityam.com/billionaire-hohn-handed-60m-dividend-and-ramps-up-philanthropy/) Of the $77 billion the firm manages, $14 billion is internal capital.[4](https://www.netinterest.co/p/the-last-active-manager)
## Notable campaigns and disputes
TCI's activism is friendly where possible and adversarial when Hohn judges management is not acting for shareholders.[5](https://thetechnocratictyranny.com/PDFS/Harvard_Report_Hedge_fund_HBS.pdf) Its campaigns and disputes include:
- **ABN AMRO (2007).** TCI campaigned against the Dutch bank in 2007.[10](https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/)
- **CSX (2007-08).** TCI built a stake partly through [total return swaps](https://www.edgepedia.org/total-return-swap) and fought the railroad in court. The District Court found TCI violated Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act by using the swaps to evade disclosure under Rule 13d-3(b) and issued a permanent injunction; the Second Circuit later vacated the injunction without resolving whether cash-settled swaps confer beneficial ownership. TCI nonetheless won four of five board seats at the shareholder meeting, though CSX stock subsequently fell 50 percent and TCI exited the position.[13](https://navnoorbawa.substack.com/p/tci-fund-management-2025-inside-chris)
- **Canadian National Railway (2021-22).** TCI doubled its stake to 8 percent in May 2021 when CN announced a bidding war for [Kansas City Southern](https://www.edgepedia.org/kansas-city-southern), opposed the bid, called for CEO Jean-Jacques Ruest to be replaced by Jim Vena, and by January 2022 had reached an agreement with CN on board changes including two new independent directors.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other)
- **Alphabet (2022-23).** In November 2022 TCI wrote publicly to CEO Sundar Pichai demanding deep headcount cuts, following up in January 2023 urging reductions of 20 percent.[10](https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/)
The current portfolio remains concentrated in infrastructure and quality franchises. As of Q4 2025 the US-listed portfolio held nine stocks worth $53.6 billion, led by [GE Aerospace](https://www.edgepedia.org/ge-aerospace) at 27 percent, with [Canadian Pacific Kansas City](https://www.edgepedia.org/canadian-pacific-kansas-city) at 6.5 percent and Alphabet at 4.4 percent.[14](https://13finsight.com/research/tci-fund-management-q4-2025-ge-aerospace-27-percent-nine-stock-portfolio)
## By the numbers
TCI's return history is marked by extremes. The fund lost more than 40 percent in 2008 and irritated investors including Yale University by imposing retroactive fees; it then returned 30 percent in 2012 and 47 percent in 2013, both net of fees.[8](https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/tci-hedge-fund-in-britain-ends-ties-to-charitable-arm/) Despite the 2008 drawdown, the fund has generated roughly 18 percent annualised since inception, about double the [S&P 500](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-and-p-500)'s return over the same period, with $36.5 billion in cumulative investor profits by 2021.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other)
Assets have grown from about $470 million in early 2004 to $42 billion plus $6.9 billion in real estate by 2021, and $77 billion by early 2026.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) • [2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/) In 2025 the master fund returned approximately 27.8 percent by one account, or a reported 27 percent by another, against the S&P 500's 17.9 percent and a broad hedge fund index return of roughly 12.6 percent; the firm earned $40 billion of gains over the three years to 2025, and cumulative net gains since 2004 run near $70 billion.[15](https://www.disruptionbanking.com/2026/01/24/how-much-returns-did-tci-fund-management-make-in-2025/) • [2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/) • [10](https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/)
## Philanthropy and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation
CIFF was endowed by Hohn from his hedge fund and its endowment continues to be managed by TCI; the foundation now has over $4 billion in active charitable grants.[3](https://ciff.org/our-story/) In TCI's first decade the fee link was contractual: investors' 0.5 percent charity fee, plus the conditional extra 0.5 percent, went to CIFF.[12](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/business/worldbusiness/26hohn.html) Over the five years to 2014 TCI donated $950 million to the foundation, and $1.9 billion cumulatively since founding; the contractual donations ended under a change set in motion in 2012 and disclosed in 2014, when the two organizations formally separated.[8](https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/tci-hedge-fund-in-britain-ends-ties-to-charitable-arm/) • [10](https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/)
The separation coincided with the Hohns' divorce. In the 2014 proceedings, Jamie Cooper-Hohn's lawyers lost a court attempt to submit evidence that Hohn's stakes in the fund's management companies might be worth as much as $800 million rather than about $100 million.[8](https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/tci-hedge-fund-in-britain-ends-ties-to-charitable-arm/) Giving has since continued voluntarily: TCI donated $797 million to charitable causes in 2025, up from $427 million the previous year.[9](https://www.cityam.com/billionaire-hohn-handed-60m-dividend-and-ramps-up-philanthropy/)
## Climate stance
In 2020 TCI launched the "Say on Climate" initiative, supported by CIFF, urging companies to disclose emissions, present reduction plans, and seek annual nonbinding shareholder approval; it has been voluntarily adopted by about two dozen companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever, and Moody's, plus 19 asset managers.[6](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other) At the same time, TCI's own regulatory disclosure states that its funds make no claim to having a sustainability focus or objective within the meaning of the FCA Rules and do not take into account the EU criteria for environmentally sustainable economic activities; the firm's position is that it engages on climate as an owner seeking value, not as a labeled sustainable investor.[7](https://www.tcifund.com/files/regulatorydisclosures/TCI%20Master%20TCFD%20Entity%20Report%20-%2020251231.pdf)
## 2025 record year and recent developments
2025 was the firm's best year. TCI generated $18.9 billion of net gains for investors, the most for any firm ever in LCH Investments' annual survey, and Hohn personally made $4.9 billion, topping Institutional Investor's Rich List for the second time in three years; Forbes estimated his fortune at $11.8 billion in January 2026, up from $9.2 billion a year earlier.[11](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/after-record-year-tci-hits-speed-bump) • [2](https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/)
The concentration that drove the record also set up the reversal. In March 2026, after the United States launched a war against Iran, TCI fell 11.9 percent in the month and 9.4 percent for the first quarter, against a 4.6 percent S&P 500 decline; GE Aerospace, its largest US holding at nearly one-quarter of more than $53 billion in US assets, dropped more than 17 percent in March, and Microsoft fell more than 23 percent in the quarter.[11](https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/after-record-year-tci-hits-speed-bump)
The portfolio has been reshaped around artificial intelligence. TCI cut its Microsoft exposure from around 10 percent of the portfolio at end-2025 to roughly 1 percent by March 2026, unwinding a position of about $8 billion, citing concerns that AI advances could disrupt Microsoft's Office and Azure businesses, while raising Alphabet from around 3 percent to 5 percent, its largest technology holding.[16](https://www.hedgeweek.com/tci-slashes-8bn-microsoft-position-amid-ai-disruption-concerns/) By the Q2 2026 13F the firm had fully exited Microsoft and added Vulcan Materials; Seeking Alpha reports 10 positions worth $52.77 billion with GE Aerospace, Visa, Moody's, S&P Global, and Alphabet comprising about 84 percent of assets, while R40's reading of the June 2026 filing reports 11 positions worth $52.77 billion, led by GE Aerospace at $17.73 billion, with new positions in [Martin Marietta](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-marietta) and Vulcan Materials.[17](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4942580-chris-hohn-tci-fund-management-13f-portfolio-q2-2026-update) • [10](https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/)
## References
1. Home | TCI, tcifund.com. https://www.tcifund.com/
2. Hedge Fund Billionaire Chris Hohn's TCI Profited By A Record $18.9 Billion In 2025, Forbes, 18 January 2026. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hanktucker/2026/01/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-chris-hohns-tci-profited-by-a-record-189-billion-in-2025/
3. Our story, CIFF. https://ciff.org/our-story/
4. The Last Active Manager, Net Interest (Marc Rubinstein). https://www.netinterest.co/p/the-last-active-manager
5. The Children's Investment Fund, 2005, Harvard Business School case. https://thetechnocratictyranny.com/PDFS/Harvard_Report_Hedge_fund_HBS.pdf
6. Chris Hohn Is a Hedge Fund Manager Like No Other, Institutional Investor. https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bstnug68kijmzi8f50cg/culture/chris-hohn-is-a-hedge-fund-manager-like-no-other
7. TCI TCFD Entity Report (period to 31 December 2025), tcifund.com. https://www.tcifund.com/files/regulatorydisclosures/TCI%20Master%20TCFD%20Entity%20Report%20-%2020251231.pdf
8. TCI Hedge Fund in Britain Ends Ties to Charitable Arm, NYT DealBook, 18 June 2014. https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/tci-hedge-fund-in-britain-ends-ties-to-charitable-arm/
9. Billionaire Hohn handed £60m dividend and ramps up philanthropy, City A.M. https://www.cityam.com/billionaire-hohn-handed-60m-dividend-and-ramps-up-philanthropy/
10. TCI Fund Management Ltd, 13F Holdings & Chris Hohn, R40. https://r40.io/funds/tci-fund-management/
11. After a Record Year, TCI Hits a Speed Bump, Institutional Investor. https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/after-record-year-tci-hits-speed-bump
12. A Hedge Fund and Its Nonprofit Twin, New York Times, 26 June 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/business/worldbusiness/26hohn.html
13. TCI Fund Management 2025: Inside Chris Hohn's Record $18.9 Billion Year, Navnoor Bawa (Substack). https://navnoorbawa.substack.com/p/tci-fund-management-2025-inside-chris
14. TCI Fund Management Q4 2025 13F: $53.6B in 9 Stocks, GE Aerospace at 27%, 13F Insight. https://13finsight.com/research/tci-fund-management-q4-2025-ge-aerospace-27-percent-nine-stock-portfolio
15. How Much Returns Did TCI Fund Management Make in 2025?, Disruption Banking, 24 January 2026. https://www.disruptionbanking.com/2026/01/24/how-much-returns-did-tci-fund-management-make-in-2025/
16. TCI slashes $8bn Microsoft position amid AI disruption concerns, Hedgeweek. https://www.hedgeweek.com/tci-slashes-8bn-microsoft-position-amid-ai-disruption-concerns/
17. Tracking Chris Hohn's TCI Fund Management 13F Portfolio – Q2 2026 Update, Seeking Alpha. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4942580-chris-hohn-tci-fund-management-13f-portfolio-q2-2026-update
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Founders, operators, and investors › Hedge funds, trading firms, and public-market investors › Hedge funds and asset managers › Equity long/short and activist funds*
*Initially written Sep 19, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 19, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license