In March, stocks, gold, and bonds all declined, with star macro strategy products collectively experiencing withdrawals.

The Securities Times reporter Shen Ning

In recent years, private fund institutions’ macro strategy products have gained favor from investors thanks to their steady performance, with their assets under management continuing to expand rapidly. However, since March, prices across major asset classes worldwide have been highly volatile, with a period of relatively large declines, causing macro strategy products’ net asset values to retreat collectively. Many star products were not spared either, drawing widespread attention from the market.

Among macro strategy products, Bridgewater’s All Weather strategy holds a benchmark position in the industry. The Securities Times reporter learned from sales channels that certain macro products under Bridgewater China have recently experienced some drawdown, and their year-to-date returns have narrowed.

A person from the distribution channel said that since March, the global macro environment has become complex and changeable. In the initial stage, supply-side disruptions triggered an inflation shock: global commodity prices rose, and stocks and bonds faced overall pressure. Subsequently, rising risk-avoidance sentiment led to asset synchronization; amid the ongoing escalation of geopolitical events and the impact of concentrated liquidation of crowded trades in the prior period (such as precious metals), various asset classes were broadly sold off. Against this backdrop, correlations among major asset classes increased significantly, and the diversification effect of investments weakened somewhat on a temporary basis. As a result, related strategies inevitably saw volatility and drawdowns. From a long-term perspective, a balanced and diversified multi-asset portfolio repairs faster than a single-asset position, and the effect of long-term wealth accumulation is also more pronounced.

Besides products under Bridgewater, many star private fund macro strategy products have also seen stage-specific drawdowns recently. “In this round of drawdowns, we do see that some macro strategy products experienced drawdowns of more than 10%. But such volatility actually matches the risk-return characteristics of the products themselves. However, when you extend the time horizon, there’s nothing particularly special about it.” The channel source said.

A relevant executive from Qianxiang Asset told The Securities Times reporter that, recently, due to synchronized drawdowns across three asset classes—stocks, gold, and bonds—both the All Weather strategy and macro strategy products have experienced some drawdown, and Qianxiang’s quant All Weather products have also retreated slightly in recent days. Traditional All Weather strategies mainly hold long positions in assets, so in a market downturn where multiple asset classes decline in tandem, they face significant challenges.

The executive also said that it is important to note that the All Weather strategy is not guaranteed to make money without losses. Although correlations among different asset classes and related strategies are relatively low, they are not perfectly negative; synchronized selloffs are still possible. However, in the long run, its volatility and cyclicality have been shown to be significantly better than those of a single asset and a single strategy, offering higher value for money. As the market gradually returns to normal, the profitability of All Weather strategies will also be gradually restored.

Industry insiders say that, internationally, macro strategies are mainly divided into three categories: quantitative macro, discretionary (subjective) macro, and systematic macro. At present, in China, some macro strategies are mainly discretionary macro. Quantitative macro is constrained by domestic investable instruments and data, so its comparative advantages are not yet prominent, while discretionary macro relies heavily on the experience-based judgments of research and investment professionals. Systematic macro emphasizes the combination of data and logic. Through scientific risk budgeting and asset allocation, it addresses a complex and ever-changing macro environment. In essence, macro products use top-down logic to judge the direction of major asset classes, aiming to obtain long-term returns from major asset classes under different macro scenarios. These products’ long-term Sharpe ratios are typically relatively low, but their strategy capacity is relatively large.

Macro strategy products are so popular with the market primarily because their performance is relatively steady. According to data from Pipi Private Fund Ranking Network, as of March 20, 2026, among 469 macro strategy products with performance records, the average return since the beginning of the year is 3.13%. Of these, 343 products achieved positive returns, accounting for 73.13%. In 2025, there were 378 macro strategy products with performance records, with an average return of 25.96%. Of these, 350 products achieved positive returns, accounting for 92.59%.

An executive at a billion-CNY private fund firm in Shanghai analyzed that, from an external environment perspective, international geopolitical conditions have remained volatile, and the overall valuation of the A-share market has rebounded from low levels, making investing in single assets significantly more difficult. Meanwhile, the proportion of domestic institutional investors continues to rise, and the pace at which long-term funds such as pension and insurance capital enter the market has accelerated. The wealth management market is becoming increasingly mature, and individual investors’ asset allocation concepts are also gradually changing. By diversifying allocations and applying scientific risk-control management, macro strategy products can, to a certain extent, diversify risk and smooth portfolio volatility. This aligns with current market needs to optimize portfolio structures and diversify the risk of relying on a single market. In addition, last year’s strong performance of some macro products also further attracted more investors’ attention.

(Editor: Wen Jing)

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