Hedge Fund News | Hedge Week

Rio Tinto’s decision to grant its Australian shareholders the opportunity to vote on a resolution calling for an independent review of its dual-listing structure has been welcomed by London-based activist hedge fund Palliser Capital.

The global mining giant amended the notice of its annual general meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, ensuring that shareholders of Rio Tinto Limited — the company’s Australian-listed entity — can cast their votes on the proposed review.

Palliser Capital, which has been advocating for governance changes at Rio Tinto, has been pushing for an assessment of whether the dual-listing structure, which splits Rio Tinto’s corporate base between London and Sydney, remains in the best interest of shareholders.

Digital asset investment products saw a third consecutive week of outflows last week, marking the largest weekly outflows on record at a total of $2.9bn, and bringing the three-week total to $3.8bn, according to a the latest Digital Assets Fund Flows Weekly Report from CoinShares.

Bitcoin bore the brunt of the weaker sentiment, seeing $2.59bn outflows last week, with minor inflows into short bitcoin totalling $2.3m.

Sui was the best performer, seeing $15.5m inflows, with XRP following with $5m in inflows.

Singapore-based digital assets platform Coinhako is to join Fusion Digital Assets, TP ICAP’s FCA registered UK-based wholesale spot cryptoasset exchange as a trading counterparty providing and consuming liquidity on the exchange.

The collaboration will see the integration of Coinhako’s advanced trading and liquidity solutions with Fusion Digital Assets, helping facilitate risk exchange and increase liquidity in response to the growing demand of the wholesale market.

Kelvin See, Head of Trading, Coinhako: “This announcement aligns Coinhako with a significant increase in institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies, spurred by the formation of digital assets as a standalone investment class. For sophisticated investors and trading firms, liquidity, transparency, and price slippage are crucial considerations, and this partnership will cater to those needs and will help drive further adoption.”

Malcolm Pratt, Head of Hedge Fund sales Trading in Europe at Bank of America has resigned to take up a new role at Clear Street, a fast-growing independent prime broker which launched operations in the UK in December, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.

Pratt, who joined Bank of America from Goldman Sachs in 2017, was a key figure in the firm’s hedge fund sales efforts. According to the report, he is expected to help establish the execution business at Clear Street, though this has not been officially confirmed.

Pratt is not the only senior hire at Clear Street, which has a valuation of $2bn following a funding round two years ago. Matthew Cyzer, former Co-Head of European Equity Execution Services at Goldman Sachs, joined earlier this month as Global Head of Markets for Europe. Given their overlapping tenure at Goldman, Pratt is likely to work on Cyzer’s team, with further hires expected as Clear Street expands its footprint in Europe.

Cisu Capital, the London-based hedge fund founded by former Elliott Management portfolio manager Mark Wills, has successfully launched a commingled fund with a commitment from a large endowment, according to a report by Business Insider.

The firm initially began trading in August 2023 with a $200m separately managed account (SMA) from Squarepoint.

The launch stands out in a market where many new hedge funds have been steered towards SMAs rather than traditional commingled structures. SMAs have become the preferred route for large allocators, offering greater transparency, customised risk controls, and negotiable fee structures. A Goldman Sachs report highlighted that SMA capital grew by 27% year-over-year, with more than half of the capital in hedge funds under $500m now held in SMAs, up from 41% in 2020.

Cisu Capital focuses on the financial services sector and joins a wave of new launches from former Elliott Management investors in recent years.

Dubai is stepping up its bid to attract hedge fund startups by launching a dedicated workspace at the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) for firms looking to establish a foothold in the region, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The DIFC is retrofitting a building to provide short-term, plug-and-play offices for managers piloting their operations before scaling up, its the facility set to open its doors by the end of April.

The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that the DIFC Hedge Funds Centre will aim to accommodate 20 to 30 firms by year-end. The 10,000-square-foot space will be housed in the financial district’s former court building, and offer fully equipped offices, networking areas, reception services, and trading infrastructure for firms that receive in-principle regulatory approval.

The move reflects growing demand from hedge funds looking to expand into Dubai. After roadshows in San Francisco and New York, DIFC expects most interest to come from US and UK-based firms, though managers from Singapore, Hong Kong, and India are also eyeing the opportunity.

Dubai’s hedge fund ecosystem has grown significantly, with 75 firms — including Andurand Capital Management and Point72 Asset Management — already operating in the emirate. Many of these firms manage over $1bn in assets, but DIFC’s latest initiative signals a shift toward attracting smaller spin-outs and independent launches.

The new Hedge Funds Centre also addresses rising demand for office space, as prime locations like the ICD Brookfield tower are nearing full occupancy. DIFC has confirmed that rents in the new space will be more affordable.

Meanwhile, neighbouring Abu Dhabi has also seen a surge in hedge fund activity, driven by the $1.7tn in assets controlled by its sovereign wealth funds. The capital has responded by expanding its financial district to a nearby island, increasing its capacity tenfold.

Fast-casual chain Portillo’s is facing a proxy fight as Engaged Capital, an activist hedge fund with an 8.6% stake in the business, pushes for significant operational and strategic changes, according to a report by QSR.

The hedge fund has nominated two industry veterans — Charlie Morrison, former CEO of Wingstop, and Nicole Portwood, ex-CMO of Salad and Go — for seats on Portillo’s board, arguing that the chain is underperforming despite strong fundamentals.

Engaged Capital acknowledges Portillo’s strong average unit volumes (AUVs), unique menu offering, and successful market expansion. However, the hedge fund contends that outdated operations, ineffective marketing, and an inefficient unit development strategy have hindered growth and led to a depressed valuation.

In a statement, Engaged Capital emphasised that while these issues are fixable, the company must act with urgency to implement technology enhancements, operational efficiencies, and targeted marketing investments to drive traffic and sales

“We were forced to resort to this public nomination after months of unsuccessful private discussions focused on adding Mr Morrison to the Board,” the firm stated, calling for further incremental board changes to enhance leadership capabilities.

Portillo’s has confirmed receipt of Engaged Capital’s nomination notice and stated that it values shareholder input, while highlightinf its ongoing improvements, including: kiosk rollouts at all locations, AI-powered drive-thru cameras, and enhanced third-party delivery accuracy; drive-thru time reductions and a new smaller restaurant prototype that cuts costs by over $1m per unit; and expanded advertising beyond Chicagoland, a new loyalty programme, and a menu simplification initiative.

Portillo’s also noted its decision to appoint Chipotle CFO Jack Hartung to its board — an introduction facilitated by Engaged Capital — as evidence of its willingness to act on constructive shareholder feedback.

Balyasny Asset Management is raising $350m for its first-ever dedicated venture capital fund, marking a strategic push into growth-stage enterprise tech startups, according to a report by PitchBook citing sources familiar with the matter.

The fund, Atlas Growth LP, which is being raised under BAM Corner Point, a newly created affiliate, is led by Rashmi Gopinath, formerly a General Partner at B Capital specialising in enterprise software investments, and Kristin Baker Spohn, who previously oversaw healthtech investments as a GP at CRV.

Balyasny’s move follows a broader trend among major hedge funds — including Point72 Asset Management, D1 Capital, and Tiger Global — which have aggressively expanded into private market investing over the past decade.

The $22bn multi-strategy firm started raising the fund in January 2025, according to a person familiar with the effort and regulatory filings.

The venture fund will focus on AI, data infrastructure, healthtech, and cybersecurity — areas where enterprise adoption is accelerating and valuations remain competitive.

Founder Dmitry Balyasny has long believed that the largest hedge funds would eventually deepen their involvement in venture capital, both to enhance returns and to sidestep capital constraints in traditional hedge fund strategies.

Balyasny Asset Management has previously invested in select startups through its existing funds, but Atlas Growth represents its first standalone venture strategy.

The firm is leveraging its hedge fund expertise in technology investing, particularly in AI, to identify promising startups. BAM Corner Point is also working closely with Balyasny’s portfolio managers to evaluate deals, a person familiar with the plans said.

Rather than adopting a broad-based approach, Gopinath and Baker Spohn plan to maintain a more concentrated portfolio, aiming to differentiate Atlas Growth from larger venture firms that deploy capital across a wider range of deals.

Millennium has added Justin Lo Iacono as a Portfolio Manager for its Andora Partners brand. This move follows the firm’s decision at the end of 2024 to bring on Daniel Engel-Hall, formerly of Marshall Wace, to lead the establishment of an equity long-short team, according to report by eFinancial Careers.

Lo Iacono joins after spending the past three and a half years as the Founder and CIO of Q9 Ventures, a crypto hedge fund. He brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at some of the industry’s top firms, including serving as Sector Head Analyst on the TMT team at Citadel’s Surveyor Capital, as Managing Director at macro hedge fund Glenview Capital, and holding a four-year stint at Goldman Sachs.

Andora Partners is part of a new breed of hedge funds that back star traders with significant funding, but without requiring them to function as traditional internal Portfolio Managers. Engel-Hall was reportedly allocated a substantial $1.75bn to build his team, a sharp contrast to Millennium’s average of $212m per team across its 330 investment teams.

Millennium declined to comment on the hiring.

The wave of departures from Morgan Stanley’s credit trading team has now extended from London to New York, with Jeff Qiu, the bank’s head of US macro credit trading, resigning to join hedge fund Garda Capital Partners, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.

Qiu’s exit follows a string of recent departures, including Herbert Filho, the bank’s head of European credit trading and research, who left last week to join Jain Global. While Filho was considered a close ally of Global Head of Credit Trading Rehan Latif, hedge fund compensation appears to have been the stronger draw.

While the reasons for Qiu’s departure remain unclear, there has been speculation that Morgan Stanley’s recent bonus payouts were underwhelming. In London, some insiders have expressed frustration over what they see as arbitrary compensation decisions tied to Latif’s preferences. Others, however, dispute these claims.

Regardless of bonus gripes, Qiu likely found the lucrative hedge fund pay packages too good to pass up. Macro traders can earn a percentage of the profits they generate, a model that typically far exceeds bank compensation.

The world’s leading financial stability watchdog – the Financial Stability Board (FSB) – is ramping up oversight of hedge fund leverage and shadow banking risks, launching a task force to assess potential systemic threats, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites FSB Chair Klaas Knot as confirming that the carry trade and basis trade, two popular but highly leveraged strategies, will be key areas of focus. Both strategies, which are used to exploit interest rate differentials and bond price discrepancies, have ballooned in scale, prompting regulators to assess their potential to trigger broader market instability.

Recent reports underscore the growing risks associated with these macro trades. A European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) study found that some hedge funds are leveraging their positions up to 18 times, with market bets totalling $220bn. This extreme financial gearing raises concerns about margin calls, forced liquidations, and potential ripple effects on the banking system.

The basis trade, once infamous for trillion-dollar wagers on US Treasuries, has gained traction in China, amplifying worries about borrowings-fuelled blowups. Meanwhile, the carry trade — where investors borrow in low-yield currencies like the Japanese yen to invest in higher-yielding assets — has grown increasingly volatile due to unpredictable US economic policies.

For instance, in August 2024, hedge funds shorting the yen and going long on US equity futures faced margin calls, triggering forced position closures. Such unwinding of trades in volatile markets can deepen losses, affecting broader financial stability.

The FSB has struggled to map risk exposures across different regulators, with data gaps limiting its ability to detect vulnerabilities in real time and Knot has emphasised the need for stronger national supervision to ensure regulators have the necessary data.

“A lot of data is either not available to regulators at all, or only available with a delay,” he said.

The FSB aims to enhance global data sharing, exploring whether real-time risk disclosures should be made public. Knot suggested that the task force would have a “powerful chair” and aims to make significant progress by 2025.

While regulators see increased scrutiny as necessary, the hedge fund industry has pushed back. Jillien Flores, Head of Global Government Affairs at the Managed Funds Association, defended market-based finance, has stated: “Market-based finance is essential for economic growth, providing diverse sources of capital, improving market efficiency, and supporting businesses and investors, including pensions.”

BNP Paribas has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Dray as EMEA Head of Investor Coverage, which sits within Financial Institutions Coverage (FIC), and focuses its efforts on a select client base of rapidly growing asset managers and hedge funds.

FIC is a global coverage group of senior bankers who act as fully integrated senior resources to a key group of Financial Institutions, leveraging BNPP’s full range of service offerings including, but not limited to, Global Markets, Global Banking, Securities Services, Real Estate, and Distribution capabilities.

Emmanuel brings nearly 30 years’ experience at the bank in both Paris and London, most recently as Head of Hedge Fund and Asset Manager Sales for Global Equity and Head of EQD in the UK. He previously served in various global leadership roles including Head of EQD Trading, Head of EQD Flow Sales and Trading, and Head of Delta One Trading. He began his career as an interest rate swaps and options trader.

D1 Capital Partners, the $21bn hedge fund led by Daniel Sundheim, has staged a strong recovery by capitalising on undervalued European corporate turnarounds, marking a significant rebound from its heavy tech-driven losses in 2022, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The report cites an investor letter seen by the FT as revealing that D1 posted a 44% return on its public portfolio in 2024, fuelled by strategic investments in Siemens Energy, Rolls-Royce, and UniCredit. The momentum continued into 2025, with a 7.7% gain in January, according to unnamed sources familiar with the figures.

D1’s resurgence has allowed it to surpass its high-water mark for most investors, meaning it can once again collect performance fees — a key milestone after the fund was forced to forgo them until clients recovered their losses.

The New York-based firm was among several high-profile hedge funds, including Coatue Management and Tiger Global, that suffered in early 2022 after making big private-market bets on tech startups, only to see valuations plunge. Sundheim, a Viking Global Investors veteran, launched D1 in 2018 with a strategy inspired by Amazon’s “Day One” philosophy of continuous reinvention.

Rather than retreat, D1 Capital pivoted towards undervalued European companies undergoing transformation, where leadership changes and cost-cutting measures have created opportunities.

D1’s focus on European valuation discounts relative to US counterparts has played in its favour. “We believe there is currently an extremely attractive opportunity to buy great businesses that trade on non-US exchanges,” Sundheim wrote in the letter.

While European stocks have historically lagged the US, that trend has begun to shift. Since Donald Trump’s re-election, the Stoxx Europe 600 index has gained 5.7%, outperforming the S&P 500, which has declined 0.2% over the same period.

Despite the rebound, D1’s private investments have lagged, returning just 3.7% in 2024. A slowdown in deal activity and IPOs has left some assets illiquid, making it difficult for investors to exit.

Currently, D1’s portfolio consists of $8bn in public investments and $12bn in private holdings, with 2022’s losses concentrated primarily in the private segment. The firm has long invested in Silicon Valley giants such as SpaceX, Groq, Stripe, and Ramp, but has since diversified beyond tech.

One of its biggest bets remains SpaceX, which now accounts for nearly a third of its private portfolio. The valuation of Elon Musk’s aerospace company has surged to $350bn, and while there has been “very substantial inbound interest” in acquiring D1’s stake, the firm does not plan to sell, according to the letter.

While D1’s past short positions contributed to heavy losses during the meme-stock frenzy, the firm has not abandoned short-selling. Sundheim described short bets as a “core part of our business”, adding that they are poised to benefit from increasing market volatility.

He pointed to the rise of highly leveraged hedge funds that quickly unwind positions in downturns, arguing that this trend will amplify volatility and create opportunities for tactical shorting.

Global institutional investors are increasingly turning to fixed income hedge funds and are bullish about returns, with 63% anticipating annual returns of 10% or more, according to a new report commissioned by RBC BlueBay Asset Management.

The study found that while optimism is high despite market uncertainties, there is a disconnect between expectations and past performance. Fewer than half (47%) of surveyed investors actually achieved double-digit returns, while 52% reported gains of 5-9%. This disparity highlights the challenge of balancing return ambitions with market realities.

The research, based on responses from 450 senior investment decisionmakers managing assets ranging from $5bn to over $100bn, found that fixed income hedge funds are now a core part of institutional portfolios. Some 60% of respondents are currently invested in hedge funds, while 84% of those have allocations in fixed income strategies.

The report found several factors underpinning the demand for fixed income hedge fund strategies, including historically strong financial performance (65%) – rising to 84% in Asia and 70% in the US – evolving fee structures (48%) and greater levels of market liquidity (45%). Primary concerns shaping investment strategies meanwhile, include geopolitical tensions (60%), and interest rate policies (58%).

Polina Kurdyavko, Head of BlueBay Emerging Market Debt at RBC Global Asset Management, sees this as a prime opportunity for hedge funds.

“We believe we are in the golden age for fixed income hedge funds. Geopolitical tensions and interest rate policies are creating volatility, but this also presents opportunities for funds that can capitalise on market mispricings,” she said.

As institutions adjust their allocations, the report found that 36% plan to fund hedge fund investments through new inflows, 25% expect to reduce allocations to other alternative strategies, and 42% are considering higher-yielding assets due to macroeconomic trends. Some 61%, meanwhile, plan to evolve their exposure to hedge funds over the next year.

A fierce battle is unfolding over the fate of motorbike manufacturer KTM, as a group of creditors led by US hedge fund Whitebox Advisors takes on India’s Bajaj Autos and Austrian business mogul Stefan Pierer, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The dispute over Austria’s restructuring laws could determine whether KTM’s lenders are forced to accept significant losses while shareholders retain full ownership.

KTM, which filed for insolvency in November, is proposing a restructuring plan that would grant creditors only €600m from €2bn in claims — a 70% haircut — while its shareholders, including Bajaj Auto and Pierer Mobility, would retain their full equity stake.

Under Austria’s insolvency rules, KTM is required to pay creditors at least 30% of their claims, the minimum legal threshold. If the plan succeeds, the company will wipe out €1.4bn in debt, while Pierer Mobility will seek up to €900m in new debt and equity financing to inject into KTM.

The creditor consortium though, led by Whitebox Advisors, is fighting KTM’s proposal, advocating for an alternative restructuring plan that would distribute losses more evenly between creditors and shareholders.

The Whitebox proposal would allow lenders to reinstate their debt at 45 cents on the dollar, instead of the 30 cents KTM is offering and provide creditors the option to extend up to €400m in new financing. It would also grant creditors a 20% equity stake in KTM.

However, KTM’s management has refused to engage with Whitebox’s proposal, according to the hedge fund.

The dispute has sparked criticism of Austria’s restructuring laws, which favour shareholders by allowing them to block alternative creditor-backed proposals. Even if Whitebox’s plan were formally introduced, KTM’s shareholders could vote it down, pushing the company toward bankruptcy.

The company’s court hearing on Tuesday in Ried im Innkreis will determine whether creditors accept KTM’s restructuring plan. If they reject it, KTM will be forced into bankruptcy, a move its administrator has warned could result in even lower payouts — just 15 cents on the dollar.

Whitebox and its allies argue that such a drastic cut does not accurately reflect KTM’s long-term prospects.

A Bajaj Auto spokesperson declined to comment, while KTM’s parent company, Pierer Mobility, has not yet responded.

Palliser Capital, a London-based multi-strategy hedge fund firm, has called on miner Rio Tinto to let its Australian shareholders vote on a proposed independent review of the company’s dual-listed structure, according to a report by Reuters.

British shareholders will vote on 3 April at Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting (AGM) in London on a resolution introduced by Palliser, which argues that the dual-listing system is inefficient and undermines shareholder value. However, Rio Tinto has advised investors to vote against the proposal.

Notably, this resolution is absent from the agenda for Rio Tinto’s Australian AGM in Perth on 1 May, effectively excluding Australian investors from having a say on the matter. In a letter to the company, Palliser criticised this move, arguing that the issue holds equal significance for all shareholders.

Due to its dual structure, Rio Tinto (London-listed) and Rio Tinto Limited (Australia-listed) hold separate AGMs.

In 2022, rival BHP scrapped its dual-listing structure under pressure from activist investors, opting for a primary listing in Australia.

A Rio Tinto spokesperson confirmed that Palliser had submitted a requisition notice for the UK meeting but had not yet done so for the Australian AGM. The spokesperson added that the company has now provided guidance on how Palliser can submit a similar request for the Australian vote.

Palliser has yet to comment on whether it will move forward with the request.

London-listed shares make up 77% of Rio Tinto’s investor base, yet Australian shares trade at a 20% premium, largely due to tax advantages for Australian investors.

To address this imbalance, Rio Tinto could buy back London-listed shares – a move the company has previously considered to strengthen its balance sheet after its $6.7bn acquisition of lithium miner Arcadium, or raise capital in Australia, which would dilute existing Australian shareholders.

However, one major hurdle to a UK share buyback is Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco), which owns nearly 15% of Rio Tinto’s London-listed stock. Under agreements made in 2008, Chinalco cannot increase its stake without Australian government approval.

A source familiar with Chinalco’s position indicated that the state-owned firm prefers to maintain its holding rather than actively buying or selling Rio Tinto shares. Chinalco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hedge funds ramped up bets on Asian stocks last week at their highest level on record since 2016, with China and Hong Kong accounting for nearly half of the regional inflows, according to a report by Reuters citing a note from the prime brokerage desk at Goldman Sachs.

Between 14 and 20 February, long positions in Asian equities outnumbered short positions by a ratio of 1.5 to one. Japan made up 23% of total inflows, while Taiwan and Australia also saw notable increases.

Goldman Sachs noted that Asia is now the most overweight region compared to MSCI AC World index weights, as hedge funds rotate out of North America in search of opportunities.

Hong Kong and China’s A-share markets have outperformed global peers in the past month, driven by a tech rally sparked by DeepSeek’s emergence. The Hang Seng Index surged to a three-year high of 23,688.45, while its sub-tech index extended gains for a sixth consecutive week.

Among the top performers, Alibaba Group (9988.HK) has soared over 60% year-to-date.

While optimism around China’s recovery has fuelled momentum, some analysts warn of overextended sentiment.

This week, Hong Kong and Chinese stocks saw sell-offs following the Trump administration’s “America First Investment Policy,” which introduced stricter investment restrictions on China.

Kevin Liu, a strategist at CICC Research, advised investors to take profits around the 23,000-24,000 level for the Hang Seng Index, citing overstretched sentiment and technical indicators.

Arrowpoint Investment Partners, a new multi-strategy hedge fund investment firm based in Singapore, has chosen SS&C GlobeOp to administer its flagship $1bn multi-strategy fund, which employs equities, fixed income and commodities strategies.

The fund, which employs 18 portfolio managers across Hong Kong and Singapore, as founded by Jonathan Xiong, the former co-CEO of Millennium’s Asia operations.

Arrowpoint Investment Partners differentiates itself by integrating both fundamental and quantitative strategies across its diverse portfolios and seeks to blend those strategies rather than operating them as independent entities. Arrowpoint focuses primarily on investments within Asia.

After a career navigating the fast-paced world of macro portfolio management at some of the biggest hedge funds, Igor Ninkovic who previously served as a Macro Portfolio Manager at Schonfeld in Dubai, is currently embracing a much sweeter path — baking cakes, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.

Ninkovic has swapped financial markets for the world of raw, vegan, and gluten-free cakes. Together with his wife, he founded KaLu Raw Baker, a company dedicated to creating cakes free from refined sugar. The business officially launched last week.

The cakes come in various flavours, including chocolate, coconut, and lemon spirulina. Available exclusively in Dubai, KaLu Raw Baker’s offerings are designed for health-conscious customers looking for an indulgent treat that fits within specific dietary preferences.

Ninkovic, who left Schonfeld in September after spending five years with Citadel in London, did not respond to inquiries about his future plans. It’s possible that his foray into the baking world could be a temporary venture, possibly influenced by a non-compete agreement.

Hedge funds have been rapidly pulling out of US tech and media stocks, exiting at their fastest rate in six months in the two weeks leading up to 21 February, according to a report by Reuters citing a report from the prime brokerage unit at Goldman Sachs.

This shift comes just as Nvidia, one of the largest tech firms by market capitalisation, prepares to release its latest earnings report.

Nvidia’s upcoming report is widely regarded as a key indicator for the booming artificial intelligence (AI) industry, with the AI and graphics chip leader currently the second most valuable company in the world, holding a 6.3% weight in the S&P 500, per LSEG data. Its stock has surged over 550% in the past two years.

Goldman Sachs noted that speculators aggressively dumped both long and short positions in AI-related equipment, media, and communications companies.

Short positions anticipate a decline in stock prices, while long positions bet on rising stock values.

Stock hedge funds, which typically balance long and short bets, lost money on their short positions but saw gains on their long bets last week, according to the Goldman Sachs client note.

While stock pickers ended the week flat, systematic traders saw returns of 0.36% between 14 and 20 February.

The market also faced added pressure on Friday, as US stocks tumbled following weak economic reports. Some analysts pointed to the expiration of $2.7tn in options contracts as another factor driving volatility.