Retail Investors Beat Hedge Funds As HF Favourites Struggle

Volatility dominated equity markets around the world during the first quarter of 2018, following what was a relatively subdued year for volatility in 2017. Indeed the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a popular measure of the stock market’s expectation of volatility implied by S&P 500 index options, which struggle to breach 15 last year, and even, on several occasions fell as low as 10, has not closed below 15 so far this year.

According to a new research report from Goldman Sachs’ portfolio strategy research team, headed by Ben Snider, US retail investors are to blame for the volatility in the first quarter. And while retail has now taken a backseat, hedge funds are now driving market turbulence, according to the...