Global Hedge Funds Achieve Best Performance in 13 Years in First Half of 2026

According to PivotalPath, a hedge fund data company, global hedge funds delivered their strongest performance since 2013 in the first half of 2026. Despite the dramatic market volatility, precise allocation in the healthcare, technology, and energy sectors successfully drove overall returns.

The performance in April this year was particularly outstanding, with hedge funds achieving a monthly return of 3.7%, setting a record for the strongest April performance in history.

According to a report provided by Goldman Sachs to its clients, equity trading-type hedge funds achieved double-digit returns in the first six months of the year, primarily due to their ability to navigate crowded trading markets.

Among various strategies, funds that evaluated corporate financial conditions using fundamental analysis performed the best. Their second-quarter return reached 18.4%, setting the strongest quarterly performance since Goldman Sachs' records began. The year-to-date (YTD) return was 17.4%. Goldman Sachs pointed out that the key to success was increasing investment scale, optimism about the healthcare sector, and adapting to existing trading trends with momentum.

Although the first half of the year was generally positive, the market volatility in June also brought challenges. The US 'Magnificent Seven' stocks experienced their worst monthly performance in over a year in June, with the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF falling by 9%. At the same time, the fluctuations in the South Korean stock market and short positions in declining asset prices also caused some losses.

In systematic trading (Systematic models), funds that select stocks using market dynamic models only gained 1.1% in June, but the year-to-date return still maintained at 11.3%. According to the analysis of the $180 billion Winton hedge fund, the losses were mainly due to the dramatic fluctuations in large US stocks and Chinese companies.

In macroeconomics, oil prices have now returned to levels comparable to before the Iran war, and the market generally expects the US Federal Reserve (Fed) to raise interest rates at least once by the end of the year.

In financial asset allocation, short positions in fixed-income products (particularly long-term US Treasuries) harmed performance. The performance in the foreign exchange market was mixed, as hedge funds profited from trading in the Canadian dollar and yen, but losses in the Australian dollar, British pound, and Norwegian krone offset these gains.