In March, stocks, gold, and bonds all declined; leading macro strategy products collectively experienced drawdowns

Securities Times reporter Shen Ning

In recent years, macro strategy products from private fund institutions have been favored by capital for their steady performance, with assets under management continuing to grow rapidly. However, since March, prices across major global asset classes have fluctuated violently, and there have even been significant declines at one point, causing net asset values of macro strategy products to retreat across the board. 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. A Securities Times reporter learned from sales channels that certain macro products under Bridgewater China have recently experienced some pullbacks, and year-to-date returns have narrowed.

Channel insiders said that since March, the global macro environment has been complex and changeable. In the initial stage, the market was hit by an inflation shock triggered by supply-side disturbances; global commodity prices rose, and stocks and bonds faced overall pressure. Subsequently, increased risk-avoidance sentiment triggered asset resonance. Under the continued escalation of geopolitical events, along with the impact of concentrated liquidation of crowded trades in the prior period (such as precious metals), different asset classes were broadly sold off. Against this backdrop, correlations among major asset classes have increased significantly; the diversification benefits of investing have weakened somewhat in the short term; and strategies that depend on these relationships are inevitably accompanied by volatility and drawdowns. From a long-term perspective, balanced and diversified multi-asset portfolios tend to repair faster than single-asset holdings, and their long-term wealth accumulation effect is even more prominent.

Besides products under Bridgewater, many star private fund macro strategy products have also seen periodical drawdowns recently. “In this round of pullbacks, we do see some macro strategy products experiencing drawdowns of more than 10%, but such volatility actually matches the products’ own risk-return characteristics. However, when you stretch the cycle longer, there’s nothing particularly special about it.” The channel insider said.

A relevant person in charge at Qianxiang Asset told a Securities Times reporter that, in recent times, due to synchronized drawdowns across three categories of assets—stocks, gold, and bonds—both the All Weather strategy and macro strategy products have recorded some pullbacks, and Qianxiang’s quantitative All Weather product has also made a small adjustment downward recently. Traditional All Weather strategies are mainly focused on holding long positions in assets; in a market environment where multiple asset classes decline simultaneously, they will face significant tests.

The person in charge also said that it is important to note that All Weather strategies are not guaranteed to be profitable without losses. Although the correlations among different assets and related strategies are relatively low, they are not negatively correlated, and it is still possible for them to experience a synchronized downturn. But from a long-term perspective, their volatility and cyclical performance are 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 in international markets, macro strategies are mainly divided into three types: quantitative macro, discretionary (subjective) macro, and systematized macro. Currently, among domestic macro strategies, many are discretionary macro. Quantitative macro is constrained by domestic investable products and data, so its comparative advantages are not yet prominent, while discretionary macro relies heavily on the experience and judgment of research and investment personnel. Systematized macro emphasizes the combination of data and logic, using scientific risk budgeting and asset allocation to deal with complex and changeable macro environments. At its core, macro product uses a top-down approach to judge the trends of major asset classes, aiming to capture long-term returns of major asset classes under different macro conditions. These products’ long-term Sharpe ratios are typically relatively low, but their strategy capacity is relatively large.

Macro strategy products are highly sought after mainly because their performance is relatively steady. Data from the private fund ranking platform PaiPaiWang shows that as of March 20, 2026, among 469 macro strategy products with performance records, the average return since the beginning of the year was 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 analyst at a billion-yuan private fund market in Shanghai said that from an external environment perspective, international geopolitical situations have continued to remain in turmoil; and the overall valuation of China’s A-share market has rebounded from low levels, making it significantly more difficult to invest in a single asset. At the same time, the proportion of domestic institutional investors has continued to increase; the pace at which long-term funds such as pension funds and insurance funds enter the market has accelerated; the wealth management market has become increasingly mature; and individual investors’ asset allocation concepts are also gradually changing. Through diversified allocation and scientific risk-control management, macro strategy products can, to a certain extent, diversify risks and smooth portfolio volatility, which aligns with the current market’s needs to optimize portfolio structure and diversify the risks of a single market. In addition, last year some macro products delivered outstanding performance, further attracting more investors’ attention.

(Editor: Liu Chang)

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