July’s unwind in crowded technology and momentum trades illustrates how forced deleveraging can roil individual stocks without necessarily signaling a broader market crisis.

Markets shuffled rather than broke in June, as weakness in AI-heavy large-cap indexes was partly offset by strength elsewhere in equities. Against that backdrop, Tactical Beta’s long-term results continue to highlight the value of a tactical hedging framework: participate when markets rise, respond when risk builds, and avoid the chronic drag of static hedging.

In a tug-of-war between AI-driven optimism and unresolved macro stress, equities surged to record highs in May despite elevated oil prices and volatile bond markets.

In an outcome predicted by approximately zero experts, a rush toward the positive “right tail” potential of AI sent stocks soaring to record highs in April despite $100 oil. With markets caught between an AI boom that could supercharge the economy and an energy crunch that could drag it down, uncertainty now seems to be the only certainty.

An attack on Iran sent oil prices soaring and world equity markets tumbling in March. Given the headlines, stock markets were remarkably composed as a comparatively large jump in VIX hinted at a "hedge and hold" mentality.