Hedge funds slashed their positions at the fastest pace in years as tariffs and signs of softer economic growth sent stocks on a roller coaster ride. Professional money managers who make both long and short wagers cut back risk exposure by selling stocks and covering shorts in a dramatic fashion on Friday and Monday. Combined, the so-called de-grossing activity was the largest two-day move in four years, according to data from Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage unit. Hedge funds were retreating at a time when the macroeconomic environment suddenly grew less sure. President Donald Trump ‘s aggressive tariff charges on imports into the U.S. and sudden changes in policy stirred up volatility on Wall Street, stoking fears of dampened consumer spending, slower economic growth, weaker profits and even a recession. .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 The S & P 500 has fallen about 9% from its recent peak, edging closer to a correction before Wednesday’s soft inflation report helped spark a small relief rally. Brad Gerstner, Altimeter Capital founder and CEO, said he has taken down his hedge fund’s net and gross exposure to the bottom decile of the firm’s normal risk exposure. “We have high economic uncertainty, high political uncertainty and high technological uncertainty. Only one thing can happen,” Gerstner said Wednesday on CNBC’s ” Squawk Box .” “Discount rates have to go up. Risk premiums have to go up. … So for us that was just a period to say, ‘OK we’ll go to the sidelines to wait this out.'” Industrial stocks experienced the most de-grossing activity among hedge funds, with risk-off flows on Friday and Monday reaching a record high, according to Goldman’s data. Goldman’s chief U.S. equity strategist, David Kostin, on Wednesday lowered his year-end S & P 500 target to 6,200 from 6,500, the first of the major Wall Street banks tracked in the CNBC Pro Market Strategist Survey to reduce its forecast for 2025.
