GS Benny Qwek Weekend Thoughts FOMO

Weekend Thoughts. 18 July 2026 | 8:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time

29/53. FOMO… Fear of Momentum.

Past notes: 28/53. Barbell over Beta, India. 27/53. Halfway mark, Asia playbook, World Cup last 16.

Key events: Asia Leaders Conference. 31 Aug - 2 Sept, HK. Details. Communacopia + Technology Conference. 8-11 Sept, SF. Details. Japan Conference. 30 Nov - 4 Dec, Tokyo. Details.

Painful week. Momentum unwind is now in the fourth week. “How much more to go” is the billion dollar question.

As we all go around searching for a crystal ball, I pulled together the below charts which will hopefully help triangulate views around positioning risks. Bottomline – exposure levels across Momentum/KOSPI/Asia Tech etc are off the highs but still look elevated versus previous years. The risk is extreme volatility could encourage further position downsizing and create a vicious cycle.

Our house view has broken-record simple: diversify. This is finally bearing fruits. Likewise I have been talking about a ‘barbell’ strategy in the recent notes. I am happy sticking to this playbook.

Amidst this drawdown Financials were by far the most $ net bought global sector (short covers), as well as Energy and Healthcare.

MTD Global fundamental L/S managers saw a -3.4% performance drawdown. Asia managers are down ~11.7% MTD.

US Momentum Pair (White) vs Growth (Blue) vs Value (Orange)

What next to look for? 2Q results to (hopefully) stabilize sentiment and rebuild cyclical momentum. All eyes on Google next Thurs and AMD’s Advancing AI Event (July 22-23).

Love to hear your views as well.