The opening months of 2026 were difficult for several leading hedge funds, including Balyasny Asset Management and ExodusPoint, as geopolitical strains and turbulent markets pressured returns, according to a Business Insider report.
Dmitry Balyasny’s $33 billion firm dropped 4.3% in March, bringing its year-to-date loss to 3.8%. Meanwhile, Michael Gelband’s ExodusPoint, which leans more heavily on fixed-income strategies, declined 4.5% over the same period. London-based LMR Partners also recorded a 2.4% loss in its multi-strategy fund.
In Asia, multi-strategy firms Dymon Asia and Pinpoint Asset Management posted March declines of 4.3% and 2.5%, respectively, though both remain in positive territory for the year.
Some firms were more resilient. New York-based Schonfeld Strategic Advisors was flat in March and up 0.9% year-to-date, helping to cushion broader industry losses.
A mix of macroeconomic and geopolitical factors weighed on performance. Continued tensions in the Middle East pushed energy prices higher, while several macro trades misfired—particularly expectations that short-term interest rates in the UK and Europe would fall. Earlier in the quarter, technology stocks also came under pressure as investors reacted cautiously to rapid developments in artificial intelligence from firms such as Anthropic.
The broader market reflected these challenges, with the S&P 500 falling 4.6% in the first quarter—its worst performance since 2022—highlighting the volatile conditions faced by both macro and multi-strategy hedge funds.