Renaissance, with $25 billion, rose 4.2 percent last month and is up 12 percent this year in its Renaissance Institutional Diversified Alpha Fund, according to a person briefed on the returns.

The SECOR Alpha Fund gained 7.4 percent in November, bringing year-to-date gains to 23 percent. The $170 million fund, run by Ray Iwanowski, makes bets across asset classes based on global macroeconomic factors. It profited on U.S. and global government bonds and on bets against energy exploration and production companies, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Kepos Capital Management, the $1.8 billion New York-based firm headed by Mark Carhart, posted a 3.1 percent return last month in its main fund, bringing year-to-date gains to 13 percent, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Algorithmic Funds

Not all algorithmic-driven funds have done well this year. Quantitative Investment Management, the $1.9 billion Charlottesville, Virginia-based firm, fell 8.7 percent in its main fund after losing 0.1 percent last month on bets against German stocks and wagers on the Japanese yen, according to a performance update, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

The firm’s more volatile Quantitative Tactical Aggressive Fund surged 27 percent in November to bring year-to-date gains to 2.3 percent, according to the update.

Returns at quant funds can be turbulent. Cantab, the $3 billion firm co-founded by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s former quantitative trading head Ewan Kirk, had its best month in November since starting, according to a person with knowledge of the returns. Aristarchus, the largest share class in the $3 billion quantitative fund, is up 32 percent this year after losing 28 percent in 2013.

Ackman Competition

This year some stock and bond pickers have also been competitive with programmers. Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square International fund rose 4 percent in November and 38 percent in 2014 by taking concentrated bets on companies. Other luminaries, such as David Einhorn and Daniel Loeb, are up 11 percent and 9.1 percent this year through November.

The upper hand is still with the quants. In previous years the firms had been deprived of markets where assets held direction for an extended period, said Tim Bruce, director of traditional research and partner at NEPC LLC, which advises clients on hedge fund investments.