In a commentary on October 23, Kartik Singhal, Vice President of Prime Brokerage at Goldman Sachs, noted that global equity hedge funds reduced their total exposure on 7 out of the past 8 trading days, at an accelerated pace. The de-risking on October 22 was the fifth largest this year, driven entirely by long selling, the largest volume of long selling since September 2025.
The reductions covered 9 out of 11 global sectors, primarily information technology and industrials. The technology sector saw both long and short positions being sold, with net selling reaching its largest level since September 2024; semiconductors and equipment were the technology sub-sector with the largest reduction in total exposure.
Industrial stocks saw reductions primarily driven by multi-strategy and quantitative funds, with every sub-sector reducing its risk exposure. The de-risking on industrial stocks that day was the third largest this year.
