US-based Citadel Investment Group is to launch several new hedge funds, including one it is marketing now that will aim to make money on currencies, interest rates and other trades based on broad economic trends, the Wall Street Journal said.

The

Chicago firm hopes to raise $2 billion in coming months and is saying it ultimately could raise $5 billion for its new Citadel Global Macro Fund, overseen by former
Moore Capital Management trader
Kaveh Alamouti, according to marketing documents seen by the publication.

Insiders say turbulent markets and hedge-fund shakeups will make the $2 billion goal harder to reach, the WSJ said, citing unnamed sources. Hedge-fund investors globally are withdrawing money.

Nevertheless, Citadel hopes to benefit from the relatively strong performance of macro funds last year, one of the few strategies to make money. Citadel started building a focused macro team last year. Some money from its long-operating Kensington and

Wellington hedge funds was allocated to the strategy in the summer, helping to offset losses elsewhere, according to documents.