Hedge Funds Dug Into Stocks Right Before the Market Went Mad
- JPMorgan data show fund exposure at three-year high on Feb. 1
- S&P 500 sank 6.5% over next two days amid yields, VIX trauma
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You didn’t have to be some dad with an E*Trade account or an ex-manager for Target Corp. shorting the VIX to get burned. The smart set took its lumps in the downdraft, too.
Days before the S&P 500 Index’s biggest selloff since 2015, bullishness among hedge funds specializing in stocks surged to the highest in more than three years, according to client data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The bank looked at a value called net exposure, which subtracts short positions from longs.