Systematic hedge funds have lost money every day since October began, according to a Goldman Sachs client note.
These speculators, whose algorithms ride market trends until they peter out and who use market signals rather than views on the economic aspects of the company stocks they trade, have printed negative returns each day since the start of October, the note released late on Monday showed.
As of Monday, systematic or quantitative hedge funds were down around 1.8% for the month so far in one of the worst four-day trading returns in almost two years, said Goldman.
Losses stemmed from crowded trades and a sell-off where funds, seeking to curtail losses, rushed to dump bets simultaneously.
When traders rush for the exit, the markets move against them as each new speculator looking to exit trades has to wait in a queue as advantageous prices deteriorate.
Hedge funds lost money on long bets expecting asset values to rise as well as short wagers betting that asset prices would fall, said the Goldman note.
"What we've witnessed over the past four days is a textbook example of a multi-layered quantitative fund unwind. This isn't about a fundamental reassessment of company earnings or economic data; it's a technical deleveraging event where the market's own plumbing seized up," said Bruno Schneller, managing director at Erlen Capital Management.
Even as these funds suffered, Nasdaq and S&P indexes reached record levels, shrugging off the ongoing government shutdown while AI-related deals continue to roll on.
Hedge funds, particularly those that follow market signals, will engage in popular bullish trades but also put on hedges. As hedge funds rushed to flee trades, short positions which might have hedged, or protected positions elsewhere, also turned into losses.
"This highlights the inherent fragility that can build when too much capital chases the same quantitative signals," added Schneller.
In the U.S. and Europe, the "pain [was] mostly felt on the short leg", on wagers betting that asset values would decline, the Goldman note said.
Still, systematic hedge funds remain up around 11% for the year to date, said the note.
Source: Investing.com
Stephen Miran, a Federal Reserve governor whose term ends at the end of January, said Thursday that he is looking for 150 basis points of interest-rate cuts this year to boost the U.S. labor market. ...
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman outlined significant changes to bank supervision and regulation during a speech at the California Bankers Association Bank Presidents Seminar...
Further changes to the Federal Reserve's short-term interest rate will need to be "finely tuned" to incoming data given the risks to both the U.S. central bank's employment and inflation goals, Richmo...
Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Tom Barkin said the monetary policy outlook remains in a fragile balance given the conflicting pressures of rising unemployment and persistently high inflation....
The US Federal Reserve agreed to cut interest rates at its December meeting only after a highly nuanced debate about the current risks facing the US economy, according to minutes from the two-day meet...
Gold price rises on Friday, poised to end with weekly gains of nearly 4% as an employment report in the US was mixed, with the economy adding fewer jobs than projected. Still, the Unemployment Rate ticked lower, yet investors are still betting the...
Harga emas kembali menguat pada perdagangan terbaru setelah sempat tertekan, didorong oleh melemahnya dolar AS dan turunnya imbal hasil obligasi pemerintah AS. Investor kembali memburu emas sebagai aset lindung nilai di tengah ketidakpastian arah...
Silver is currently hovering around $77,430, likely awaiting triggers from the US dollar and yields. If the dollar strengthens, silver is usually resilient; if the dollar weakens, silver rises more easily.Fundamentals are still supported by safe...