Hedge fund equity strategies fall together for first time since Covid

All three broad hedge fund equity strategies fell more than 1% Thursday, the first time since Covid, according to a Goldman Sachs prime brokerage note to clients reported by Bloomberg News.

Global fundamental long/short managers fell 1.4% at Thursday's close, their worst day since July 16, with telecom, media and technology-focused funds off an average 2.7%, the note said. Global systematic long/short managers fell 1.3%, their third-worst day since December 2023, it added.

Multistrategy platforms slid 1.9%, their second-worst day since the April 2025 tariff selloff, a deeper fall than the 1.4% at fundamental funds or the 1.3% at systematic ones, the note said.

For allocators reviewing their factor and exposure reports, the multistrategy platforms' 1.9% slide raises a due-diligence question: the structure built to spread risk lost more than the single-strategy books it sits beside.

More than two-thirds of hedge funds finished down, Goldman estimated from its prime book, with concentrated shorts squeezed further in the second half of the session. The Nasdaq 100 fell 2.9%, its most since June, as concern about heavy spending on artificial intelligence and oil-induced inflation weighed.

Asia-focused fundamental long/short managers also lost money, with month-to-date declines of 9.3% and a 14.2% year-to-date return, the note said.