Today's Hedge Funds Pulse
Paul Tudor Jones places $8 bn volatility bet on U.S. small‑cap stocks
Billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones has filed an $8 bn options position linked to the iShares Russell 2000 ETF. The structure includes roughly $5.1 bn of puts and $3 bn of calls, forming a volatility‑focused straddle that signals expectations of large price swings in U.S. small‑cap equities rather than a directional bet.
Pareto Pure Alpha Portfolios — April 2026
Pareto Investor’s April 2026 update shows its four Pure Alpha portfolios delivering mixed YTD results amid heightened macro volatility. The Momentum portfolio leads with a 23% gain YTD and a 105% return over the past 12 months, while Growth and Permanent posted modest declines of 2% and 3% respectively. All four strategies outperformed the S&P 500, which is down about 5% YTD, buoyed by a 33% YTD surge in the energy sector. The firm attributes performance to a commodity‑rotation cycle now in an energy‑dominant phase and notes only minor portfolio rebalancing since March.
Rapid US Rally Could Trigger Dollar Spike and Inflation
The risk nobody speaks about. Everyone wants a V-shape recovery. I don’t. If US stocks snap back too fast, hedge funds in Europe, Japan, Brazil sell everything locally and rush into the US. Dollar spikes to 110. Inflation restarts. What I want: slow...
Long Norway Boosts Alpha Amid Europe Short Position
Net Short Europe with Long Norway (which is +9% in the last month only improving the Long/Short Alpha)
Activist Hedge Fund Saba Targets Edinburgh Trust While Steyer Confronts Past Prison Ties
Activist hedge fund Saba, led by Boaz Weinstein, has escalated its campaign to break up Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust, while billionaire founder Tom Steyer faces renewed criticism over Farallon Capital's historic stake in private‑prison operator CoreCivic. Both stories highlight how...
Split Capital Winds Down as Founder Joins Stablecoin Startup Plasma
Split Capital, a digital‑asset hedge fund founded by Zaheer Ebtikar, announced it is winding down despite posting over 100% returns in both 2024 and 2025. Ebtikar cited a fundamental shift in the crypto market that makes the traditional hedge‑fund model...
IMF Warns of Emerging Markets’ Exposure to ‘Flighty’ Hedge Funds
The International Monetary Fund warned that emerging‑market economies are becoming increasingly exposed to sudden capital outflows from hedge funds that can shift positions quickly. Hedge funds have expanded their holdings of sovereign and corporate debt in these markets, often using...
Hedge Funds Make Record Bets Against European Stocks
Hedge funds have placed record‑size short bets on European equities, pushing total short exposure to roughly €12 billion, a 40% year‑on‑year increase. The surge follows tightening monetary policy, lingering inflation, and heightened geopolitical uncertainty across the region. Data from trade repositories...
Hedge Funds Execute Fastest March Sell‑off in 13 Years, Pivot to Defensive Stocks
Goldman Sachs data reveals hedge funds sold off high‑growth stocks in March at the fastest pace in 13 years, targeting names such as Nvidia, Tesla and Palantir. The retreat coincides with a 4% year‑to‑date drop in the S&P 500 and...
Mixed March for Managed Futures
March’s managed‑futures landscape was dominated by heightened geopolitical risk after the US and Israel struck Iran, sparking cross‑asset volatility. Nordic CTAs slipped modestly, with trend‑following managers posting losses while non‑trend, especially machine‑learning strategies, generated strong gains. Energy markets rallied, offsetting...
AI Shifts From Signal Generation to Capital Allocation in Hedge Funds
The hedge‑fund industry is moving from AI‑generated trade signals to AI‑driven capital allocation, treating portfolio construction as a learning problem. Alphacircle AI showcases this shift with a deep‑reinforcement‑learning system that posted a reported 36.2% return in 2025, a Sharpe ratio...
RG Niederhoffer Capital Management Posts 27.4% Q1 Gain Even as Volatility Rises
RG Niederhoffer Capital Management reported a 27.4% gain for the first quarter, outperforming most peers despite a surge in market volatility. The firm’s systematic, volatility‑scaled models generated strong returns while many hedge funds posted modest or negative results. The performance...
Pershing Square Launches $64 Bn Bid for Universal Music, Offers 78% Premium
Pershing Square Capital Management has submitted a non‑binding €55.8 billion ($64 billion) proposal to acquire Universal Music Group, offering €5.05 in cash plus 0.77 shares of a new NY‑listed entity per share – a 78% premium to the current price. The deal...
Alternative Views with Vincent Ijaouane
March’s heightened market volatility rattled many multi‑strategy hedge funds, delivering the sector’s heaviest monthly drawdown in over four years. Two Sigma bucked the trend, posting outperformance against peers while simultaneously confronting a governance shake‑up that led to the resignation of...
Two Sigma Outperforms Multi-Strat Peers Amid March Market Volatility
Two Sigma’s multi‑strategy funds delivered positive returns in March despite heightened market volatility, outpacing peer groups that posted double‑digit losses. The firm’s systematic, data‑driven approach insulated its portfolio from sharp equity and commodity swings. At the same time, Two Sigma’s...
Tiger Global, Viking, Maverick Hit by March Market Turmoil
Several high‑profile hedge funds, including Tiger Global, Viking and Maverick, suffered steep losses in March as market volatility surged. The turmoil triggered the sector’s heaviest monthly drawdown in over four years, echoing broader Q1 challenges for equity‑heavy strategies. While some...
Pershing Square Proposes UMG Acquisition via SPAC Deal
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management has proposed acquiring Universal Music Group through a SPAC merger that would move UMG’s listing from Amsterdam to New York. The offer provides €5.05 in cash plus 0.77 new shares for each UMG share,...
Citadel’s Global Fixed Income Strategy Hit by March Market Turmoil
Citadel’s Global Fixed Income strategy posted a roughly 5% loss in March as bond markets roiled amid shifting Federal Reserve expectations. The turbulence contributed to hedge funds experiencing their heaviest monthly drawdown since 2020, with many flagship funds struggling through...
Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Launches Bid for Universal Music Group
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square has launched a $63.5 billion takeover bid for Universal Music Group, proposing a merger that would create a new US‑listed entity and replace UMG’s Amsterdam listing. Shareholders would receive $5.05 in cash plus 0.77 shares of the...
Tom Steyer’s Private‑Prison Past Sparks Hedge‑Fund Scrutiny Ahead of California Governor Race
Tom Steyer, the billionaire founder of Farallon Capital, is confronting renewed attacks over his hedge fund’s historic stake in CoreCivic, the private‑prison operator now housing undocumented immigrants. The controversy has intensified as the June 2 primary approaches, forcing Steyer to...
Vol‑Control Funds Keep Selling as RV Spread Doubles
At the start of the year 1M RV was printing 8-9%. It has more than doubled. Vol-control funds are required by mandate to keep cutting equity exposure until that spread closes. Wouldn't be surprised to see this "unwind" a little...
RA Capital Boosts Wave Stake Amid Clinical Setback
🚨Here is an interesting report from this week’s @barronsonline regarding a major investment made in $WVE by RA Capital - despite Wave’s recent disappointing clinical readout of its obesity candidate $WVE-007 🧵👇. According to the report RA Capital has raised...
Stanley Druckenmiller Dumps SanDisk, Triples Alphabet Stake, Betting on AI
Stanley Druckenmiller, the former Duquesne Capital manager, sold his entire SanDisk stake in Q4 and more than tripled his holding in Alphabet. The move underscores his confidence that AI‑driven Alphabet is deeply undervalued, while he exits a semiconductor play that,...
First Weekly Portfolio Shift Signals Make-or-Break Moment
(PREMIUM) "Tactical Update: April 6, 2026 - Make or Break..." First portfolio change of the week... via The Lyons Share https://t.co/Erxetrw4KU https://t.co/0Xl1grhOeJ
Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman Packs Nearly 40% of Portfolio Into Amazon, Alphabet and Meta
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management has concentrated roughly 39% of its assets in three AI‑focused giants—Amazon, Alphabet and Meta—worth about $5.9 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. The move underscores Ackman’s Buffett‑style focus on high‑quality businesses but also spotlights concentration risk for...
Coatue Sells CoreWeave Stake, Doubles Applied Materials Position Amid AI Realignment
Coatue Management sold its entire CoreWeave position after the AI‑focused cloud provider’s shares fell roughly 50% since October, and it nearly doubled its Applied Materials holding to 1.51% of the wafer‑equipment maker. The hedge fund also remains a backer of...
Bitcoin Reclaims Safe‑Haven Status as Gold Turns Risky
🚨UPDATE Fidelity just said capital has rotated from Bitcoin into gold at the top and is now flowing back into BTC. Bitcoin is acting like a safe haven while gold trades like a risk asset. https://t.co/6M5EX4LZqZ
ORR: A Hedge Fund In ETF Clothing, Convincing Buy Opportunity
The Militia Long/Short Equity ETF (ORR) launched in January 2025 and is rated a buy for its differentiated, non‑correlated global long/short strategy. Since January 2025 it has generated a 47.1% net asset value return, outperforming the S&P 500 by 2.5 times...
Hedge Funds Dump Global Stocks at Fastest Pace in 13 Years
Goldman Sachs' premier brokerage division reported that hedge funds liquidated global equities in March at the fastest rate in 13 years, second‑fastest since the firm began tracking the metric in 2011. The sell‑off was sparked by a 17% jump in...
Alphabet Gets Buy Rating Upgrade as Wedge Capital Cuts Stake by 27%
Wall Street Zen upgraded Alphabet (GOOGL) from hold to buy, joining Raymond James, Wolfe Research and others in raising price targets. At the same time, Wedge Capital Management slashed its Alphabet position by 27.3%, selling nearly 79,000 shares worth $66 million, underscoring...
D.E. Shaw Boosts Amazon Stake by 87% After Years of Trimming
Quantitative hedge fund D.E. Shaw lifted its Amazon.com stake by roughly 87% in the fourth quarter of 2025, the first quarterly increase in eight quarters. The move reflects the fund’s long‑term conviction in Amazon’s AI‑driven silicon advantage and booming advertising...
Crumly & Associates Sells $3.4 Million of TDIV ETF in Q1, Raising Institutional Confidence Questions
Crumly & Associates Inc. sold 35,046 shares of the First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV) for an estimated $3.42 million in Q1 2026, cutting its holding to 2.05% of its 13F assets. The move, disclosed in an SEC filing,...
XTX Markets Posts Record £1.71bn Profit and Pays $2.3bn in Dividends
XTX Markets announced a 2025 profit of £1.71 billion (about $2.2 billion) and paid $2.3 billion in dividends, the largest payout for a UK‑based algorithmic trading firm. The results highlight the profitability of machine‑learning driven market‑making amid volatile markets.
Goldman Sachs Acquires Innovator Capital, Adding $31B in ETFs
Goldman Sachs finalized the purchase of Innovator Capital Management, bringing roughly $31 billion in assets under supervision into its ETF platform. The deal expands Goldman’s active ETF suite to 240 funds, positioning it among the world’s ten largest active ETF providers.
He Turned Down Ken Griffin to Run His Own Fund. That Was $20 Billion Ago.
Hamza Lemssouguer, a 35‑year‑old London‑based manager, declined a multi‑billion‑dollar offer from Citadel founder Ken Griffin in 2020. He subsequently founded Arini Capital, launching with $1.3 billion in seed capital. Within two years the firm grew to manage roughly $20 billion, making it...
Crumly & Associates Sells $3.4 Million of TDIV ETF, Retains 2% Stake
Crumly & Associates Inc. sold 35,046 shares of the First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund (TDIV) for an estimated $3.42 million, cutting its quarter‑end position by $3.73 million. The firm still holds over 100,000 shares, leaving the ETF at 2.05% of...
Hedge‑Fund Founder Chris Rokos Gives Record $251 Million to Cambridge University
Chris Rokos, the founder of Rokos Capital Management, announced a £190 million ($251 million) donation to the University of Cambridge to create the Rokos School of Government. The pledge, the largest modern‑era gift from a hedge‑fund billionaire to a UK university, includes...
FNY Investment Advisers LLC Buys 33,064 Shares of Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO
FNY Investment Advisers LLC dramatically expanded its Cisco position, adding 33,064 shares to hold a total of 33,200 shares worth roughly $2.56 million, representing about 0.7% of its portfolio. Cisco stock rose 1.4% to $79.02, supported by a quarterly earnings beat—$1.04...
Hedge Funds Dump Global Stocks at 13‑Year High
"Hedge funds sold global stocks at the fastest pace in 13 years in March ... The pace of selling was the second-largest since [Goldman] started collecting the data in 2011." Goldman Sachs via BBG
March Reality Check: Hedge Funds Raise Billions, Record Cambridge Gift
March delivered a reality check to clients of some of the biggest hedge funds. Kite Lake raised $700m. Taula raised $1.75b despite losses. My week in stories: full table with new names to a record £190 million Cambridge donation by...
Citadel’s $5 Billion “Give-Back” — Capital Discipline Reshapes the Hedge Fund Liquidity Cycle:
Citadel announced a $5 billion profit give‑back to investors in early 2026, underscoring its commitment to capital discipline. By trimming excess assets, the firm seeks to protect alpha generation and avoid performance dilution across its multi‑manager platform. The distribution injects liquidity...
Steve Cohen’s “Sports-as-an-Asset” Strategy — The Institutionalization of Sports as an Alternative Investment Class:
Steve Cohen is turning his ownership of the New York Mets and stakes in the PGA Tour, TGL and related ventures into a diversified, institutional‑grade sports platform. By bundling media rights, data analytics and betting infrastructure, he treats sports franchises...
Two Sigma’s “AI-First” Internal Mandate — The Race for “Operational Alpha” In the Age of Frontier Models:
Two Sigma has issued an internal "AI‑first" mandate, requiring every employee to embed frontier AI models—especially large language models—into daily workflows. The firm calls the resulting efficiency boost "operational alpha," a systematic edge that compounds across research, engineering, compliance and...
New Hedge Fund Returns Table Shows Top Performers
Hedge fund returns table with many more names, including Citadel, Point72, Verition and more https://t.co/LBkCq0Uiq9
Big Hedge Funds Post Mixed Q1 Returns as Geopolitical Turmoil Hits Markets
In the first quarter, hedge funds delivered uneven results: Balyasny Asset Management fell 3.8% year‑to‑date, while Schonfeld Strategic Advisors posted a modest 0.9% gain. The divergence reflects heightened market stress from the Iran‑Israel war, rising oil prices and a sharp...
Hedge Fund Mirrors 5x Ultra Oil ETF, Resetting After Collapse
This dude is basically running his hedge fund as a 5x Ultra ETF on oil, and if he blows up, he just restarts again with the exact same model. #scenes.
Big Name Hedge Funds Struggle in Choppy Q1 Markets
The first quarter of 2026 proved turbulent for leading hedge funds as geopolitical tensions and market volatility eroded returns. Balyasny Asset Management’s $33 billion portfolio slipped 4.3% in March, leaving it down 3.8% year‑to‑date, while ExodusPoint fell 4.5% in the same...
Weiss Liquidates All Long Positions, Says Show
Today we will learn on the show that Weiss sold out of all his longs.... @thestreetpro @dougkass
Hedge Funds Suffer March Losses Amid Middle East Conflict
March was BRUTAL: Some of the world’s biggest hedge funds known for delivering steady returns lost money as the war in the Middle East roiled markets across energy, bonds and equities and forced traders to unwind crowded positions. Here are...
Quant Funds Face a “Capacity Squeeze”: When Too Much Capital Threatens Alpha:
Quantitative funds are confronting a capacity squeeze as surging investor demand threatens the very alpha that made them attractive. Managers such as Renaissance Technologies, Two Sigma, and D.E. Shaw are closing funds, raising minimums, and limiting inflows to preserve performance....
Saba Capital Poised to Overhaul Edinburgh Worldwide Trust Board Over SpaceX Stake
Activist hedge fund Saba Capital Management is likely to replace the board of Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust Plc at its April shareholder meeting. The London‑listed trust holds a $1 bn portfolio, with roughly 17% of its assets tied to SpaceX, making...