Prime Insights and Analytics Chart Pack September 2026 Marquee

Prime Insights & Analytics Chart Pack September 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

Sarah Cohen Prime Services Securities Lending

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 Positioning still guarded. Macro Hedges. AI thematic flows diverging.

Following a sharp drawdown in July and flat performance in August, Global Fundamental L/S returns are down -1.1% so far in September (now up +12.1% YTD as of 9/14), driven by beta losses as alpha is up +0.2% MTD (now up +7.8% YTD).

As higher oil prices + rates continue to weigh on risk appetite, hedge funds have net sold global equities in the past month, driven by short sales in Macro Products and to a lesser extent Single Stocks. US Macro Products recently saw the largest net selling since the week of Liberation Day with ETF shorts rising at the fastest pace in six months (link), while 7 of 11 global sectors were net sold since mid-August. In turn, positioning remains guarded, with overall gross/net leverage sitting at the 55th/18th percentiles vs. the past year and GIR’s sentiment indicator falling to the lowest level since March (link).

Among the major regions so far in September, DM Asia is the most net bought (driven by long buys), Europe has seen relatively little net activity, while EM Asia and North America are the most net sold (both driven by short sales). Within Asia, Korea (long sales), Taiwan (long sales), and Japan (short sales) are the most notionally net sold markets MTD, while China and Hong Kong are the most net bought, driven by long buys. Hedge funds are now O/W Asia equities (DM + EM) by roughly +13% vs. MSCI World ACWI (vs. record high of +20% in June and +6.5% at start of the year).

Thematic highlights: 1) TMT stocks are the most net bought among all US sectors in the past month, led by long buys in hyperscalers – net allocation to Mag 7 has risen to ~20% (95th percentile 3-year) from a YTD low of 14% in June – and short covers in Software (where long exposure is still near the lows – i.e., positioning remains a tailwind). On the other hand, net allocation to US Power stocks (GSX1POW1) has fallen to two-year lows, driven by heavy short sales. 2) Health Care is the most $ net sold US sector month/month, as nearly all subsectors are net sold led by Biotech. 3) Hedge funds have heavily net sold Utilities and Real Estate stocks (“bond proxies”) in the past several weeks, driven entirely by short sales. 4) Recent flows across Consumer Discretionary and Staples remain largely net for sale where positioning is still near multi-year lows. 5) Overall positioning in Medium-Term Momentum is at YTD lows (26th percentile 1-year, 85th percentile 5-year), as Fundamental L/S managers have continued to reduce exposure.

Source: Goldman Sachs FICC and Equities and Prime Services data as of September 15, 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