China Quant Funds Lose More Than 10% in October Selloff

China’s quantitative hedge funds recorded broad losses in October after a selloff in technology stocks reduced their gains for 2026. All six long-only quantitative strategies tracked by China Merchants Futures fell more than 10% during the month. Each was down at least 6% for the year.

Strategies linked to the CSI 1000 Index fell 16.7% in October, leaving them down 13% in 2026. Products tied to the CSI 300 declined 11% during the month and were down 8.5% for the year.

China’s benchmark stock index recorded its weakest monthly performance in more than a decade. Technology shares were among the main sources of pressure during the selloff.

Market-neutral quantitative strategies fell between 3% and 5% in October. These funds use short positions to limit their exposure to broad market movements.

All six long-only strategies underperformed their benchmarks in October. The largest shortfall was 4.4 percentage points against the CSI A500 Index. CSI 2000-linked products remained 18.5 percentage points ahead of their benchmark for 2026.

Separate data from Shenzhen Golden Axe Fund Sales showed that 68 index-enhancement products linked to the CSI 1000 fell an average of 9.3% in the final week of October. All but one were down for the year, and the weakest-performing fund had fallen 26%.

Quantitative funds use computer models to select investments and manage portfolios. Index-enhancement products seek to outperform benchmarks such as the CSI 1000.