Finance1 min read

Hedge Fund VARA Plunges 33% in Brutal October for AI Stocks

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The downturn mirrors an industry-wide retreat driven by doubts over whether heavy AI expenditures will yield profits capable of servicing corporate debt. Tech benchmarks suffered historic pullbacks alongside the fund, including a sharp monthly drop in the Nasdaq 100 Index. VARA assured clients it is managing risks by maintaining excess margin and operating near the lower end of its historical leverage range.

Key points

  • Growing investor skepticism regarding corporate debt and artificial intelligence profitab…: Growing investor skepticism regarding corporate debt and artificial intelligence profitability has driven severe tech stock declines.
  • The Nasdaq 100 Index recorded a 6.7% drop in October, marking its deepest monthly fall in…: The Nasdaq 100 Index recorded a 6.7% drop in October, marking its deepest monthly fall in more than 18 months.
  • VARA stated its portfolio remains stable by keeping excess margin and reducing historical…: VARA stated its portfolio remains stable by keeping excess margin and reducing historical leverage levels amid market volatility.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

(Bloomberg) -- Value Aligned Research Advisors, a hedge fund that has been all-in on the AI trade, tumbled 33% last month as those stocks faced a painful reckoning.

The firm, which has operated a portfolio similar to Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness, told investors with Class C shares that its fund was still up 13% for the year, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public information. The hedge fund fared even worse in July, when it plunged 44%.

A weekslong rout — driven by mounting anxiety over whether AI will deliver profits big enough to justify the hundreds of billions of dollars of debt that technology companies are taking on to build bigger and better models — ended with the Nasdaq 100 Index tumbling 6.7% in October, its deepest slide in more than a year and a half.

The pain has continued this month. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, home to chip bellwethers like Nvidia Corp., Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., tumbled 12% on Thursday, the most since March 2020.

“While…

Finance