Prime Insights and Analytics Chart Pack August 2026 Marquee

Prime Insights & Analytics Chart Pack August 2026

Vincent Lin, CFA, FRM Prime Services Securities Lending

Marco Laicini, PhD Prime Services Strategies

Freddie Parker, CFA Prime Services Capital Introduction

Erin Tolar Prime Services Securities Lending

Kartik Singhal Prime Services Strategies

Tanya Ratra Prime Services Strategies

Prepared by Prime Brokerage. In evaluating this material, you should know that it could have been previously provided to other clients and/or internal Goldman Sachs personnel, who could have already acted on it. The views or ideas expressed here are those of the desk and/or author only and are not an official view of Goldman Sachs; others at Goldman Sachs may have opinions or may express views that are contrary to those herein. This material is not independent advice and is not a product of Global Investment Research. This material is a solicitation of derivatives business generally, only for the purposes of, and to the extent it would otherwise be subject to, CFTC Regulations 1.71 and 23.605. All references to “we/us/our” refer to the views and observations of the desk unless specified otherwise.

Prime Insights & Analytics Chart Pack Leverage ratios little changed so far in August. Rotation back into US equities.

After a sharp performance drawdown in July, Global Fundamental L/S performance has rebounded +2.4% so far in August (now up +15.5% YTD as of 8/17), driven almost entirely by beta gains on the back of the market rally (alpha ~flat). Systematic L/S (quant) performance is up +2.9% MTD (now up +16.2% YTD).

Overall Gross and Net leverage have seen relatively little changes MTD with both measures now sitting around their respective 1-year averages, as the scar tissue from July has likely dampened the pace of recovery in risk appetite. That being said, on the back of extremely strong Q2 earnings (link), recent trading flows point to a sharp rotation back into US equities, which have been net bought for three straight weeks. Notably, on a trailing 3-week basis in % terms, the recent buying in the US is the largest since March 2020 and second largest in the past decade, driven by both Single Stocks and Macro Products. Short exposure in US Macro Products has fallen to the lowest levels YTD, which suggests managers are carrying fewer hedges on an index level, consistent with the sharp declines in option skews and the GS Vol Panic Index (link).

Nearly all major regions outside of North America are net sold so far in August, led by DM Asia and to a lesser extent Europe. Within Asia, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan are the most net sold markets MTD, while China is by far the most net bought though net allocation in Chinese equities (onshore + offshore) is still near the lowest levels in the past five years.

Thematic and factor highlights: 1) TMT stocks are the most net bought among all US sectors MTD, led by hyperscalers and semiconductor names. Aggregate net exposure in Broad AI (GSTMTAIP) has risen so far in August but remains well below the highs seen in May. 2) Financials is among the most net bought US sectors MTD, led by long buys in Capital Markets, while Industrials is the most net sold, driven by short sales. 3) HFs are tracking to net buy US Health Care stocks for a second straight month (7 of last 8), led by HC Equip & Supplies names. 4) In US Consumer, MTD net flows have diverged between Staples (buying) and Discretionary (selling). 5) Overall factor exposure to Medium-Term Momentum has fallen modestly so far in August and is now ~inline with 1-year average in the 49th percentile (90th percentile 5-year). At the same time, overall factor exposure to Market Sensitivity has risen in the past month to 5-year highs, suggesting HFs have gravitated towards higher beta stocks.

Source: Goldman Sachs FICC and Equities and Prime Services data as of August 18, 2026. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All references to “we/us/our” refer to the views and observations of the desk unless specified otherwise.

FICC&&Markets Global Banking Equities 2