AQR Capital Management launches prediction markets unit, hires traders up to $260,000
AQR Capital Management has established a new prediction markets unit and is actively hiring traders to build models for trading sports contracts. The quantitative asset manager, founded by Cliff Asness and overseeing roughly $120 billion in assets under management, posted roles on industry site Next Predict with salaries reaching up to $260,000. The hires will focus on event-driven trading strategies, marking a significant expansion by a major hedge fund into the regulated prediction markets space. The unit's creation surfaced in late May 2026 and reflects broader institutional capital flowing toward structured event-contract trading operations.
AQR's dedicated unit forces rivals like Two Sigma and Renaissance to match its quant-built sports contract models or cede institutional liquidity on CFTC-regulated venues. The $120 billion asset manager's entry validates event contracts as a core strategy, not an experimental allocation.
Becomes the third major institutional entry into prediction markets this month after Nasdaq Private Market's Polymarket partnership and Interactive Brokers' expanded venue aggregation, signaling that traditional finance is building dedicated event-contract infrastructure rather than treating it as a side allocation.