Renaissance, Schonfeld and Engineers Gate hit by early 2026 quant losses

Businessinsider reports that quant hedge funds including Renaissance Technologies, Schonfeld, and Engineers Gate have recorded losses in the opening weeks of 2026.

Goldman Sachs said the average quant fund started the year down about 1%. HSBC's Hedge Weekly reported Renaissance's two largest funds lost roughly 4% each through January 9. A person familiar with Schonfeld said the manager's quant-only strategy was down 3.9% through January 16, and a person familiar with Engineers Gate said it was down around 6% midway through the month. Renaissance, Schonfeld, and Engineers Gate declined to comment.

Goldman attributed much of the pain to US stock volatility driven by trade proposals floated by President Donald Trump's administration, and to crowding as funds piled into similar trades. The start of 2026 saw the worst stretch of losses since early October, and a January 16 Goldman Sachs FICC and Equities and Prime Services performance was especially bad for many quant funds, industry insiders said.

Last year systematic funds endured extended loss periods — one consultant called the June-July stretch "a long, slow bleed" — though the average quant still returned 7.7% in 2025, according to PivotalPath, below the average fund and the S&P 500. PivotalPath and Goldman have flagged equity-quant crowding as an investor concern, noting spikes in crowding measures have preceded prior drawdowns.

Key Topics

Business, Renaissance Technologies, Schonfeld, Engineers Gate, Goldman Sachs, Pivotalpath