{"id":90992,"date":"2025-10-29T00:14:37","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T04:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hedgeco.net\/news\/?p=90992"},"modified":"2025-10-29T01:01:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T05:01:14","slug":"trend-following-hedge-funds-falter-as-macro-discretionary-strategies-pull-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/10\/2025\/trend-following-hedge-funds-falter-as-macro-discretionary-strategies-pull-ahead.html","title":{"rendered":"Trend-Following Hedge Funds Falter as Macro &#038; Discretionary Strategies Pull Ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iompm9779TfA\/v3\/620x-1.jpg\" alt=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/images\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/iompm9779TfA\/v3\/620x-1.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(HedgeCo.Net) A clear performance divide has emerged in 2025 between funds relying on algorithmic trend-following systems and those using discretionary macro and stock-picking strategies. Funds that chase market trends mechanically are under pressure. For example, systematic funds were reported as being down more than 11 % by end-May, versus discretionary-led funds which were up about 7 %.&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/finance\/trend-hedge-funds-struggle-more-nimble-macro-funds-embrace-whipsawing-markets-2025-06-13\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\">Reuters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why the split?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The market regime is changing. Volatility is higher, but market moves are less sustained, more choppy, meaning trend-followers (which rely on momentum) are seeing whipsaws and getting hurt.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/am.gs.com\/en-fi\/advisors\/insights\/article\/2025\/mapping-the-evolution-hedge-funds-in-a-new-market-regime?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Goldman Sachs Asset Management<\/a><\/li><li>Discretionary managers are more agile: they adjust asset classes, use fundamental insights, and pivot more quickly. Systematic funds are often slower to adapt, stuck in their code and signals.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/finance\/trend-hedge-funds-struggle-more-nimble-macro-funds-embrace-whipsawing-markets-2025-06-13\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reuters<\/a><\/li><li>Some strategies that excelled in the prior low-rate, low-volatility era are less well-suited for the \u201chigher volatility, higher rate\u201d landscape. The more adaptive funds are doing better.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.callan.com\/blog-archive\/hedge-funds-in-2025\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Callan+1<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>What does this mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>For investors: If you\u2019re allocating to hedge-funds, strategy matters more than ever. Trend-following alone might struggle in this regime.<\/li><li>For managers: There\u2019s pressure to reinvent, combine systematic with discretionary, or adopt hybrid models to navigate this environment.<\/li><li>For the industry: Success will increasingly differentiate between the nimble and the rigid. The winners may be those willing to adapt.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong><br>The dividing line in hedge-fund performance is becoming clearer \u2014 trend systems are being tested, while discretionary\/macro strategies are gaining favor. Investors should pay attention to the underlying strategy, not just the label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(HedgeCo.Net) A clear performance divide has emerged in 2025 between funds relying on algorithmic trend-following systems and those using discretionary macro and stock-picking strategies. Funds that chase market trends mechanically are under pressure. For example, systematic funds were reported as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16042,16044,16043,16,3],"tags":[16298],"class_list":["post-90992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hedge-fund-performance-2","category-hedge-fund-strategies-2","category-hedge-fund-technology","category-hedgeco-networks-press-releases","category-hedgeco-news","tag-macro-strategies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90992"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90994,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90992\/revisions\/90994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}