Quantitative hedge funds, which use computer algorithms and mathematical models to place trades, turned in some of the strongest returns in the industry during a volatile July. Long-short equity managers, who buy stocks they expect to rise and sell short ones they expect to fall, struggled last month, while several of the largest algorithm-driven firms posted solid gains. The month added another data point to a year in which systematic, computer-run strategies have often held up better than funds guided by individual portfolio managers.
Renaissance Technologies, the quantitative investment firm founded by mathematician Jim Simons, is now led by longtime executive Peter Brown. Its Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund gained 9.2% in July, recovering from six months of losses and lifting its 2026 return to 4.5%. The firm’s smaller Institutional Diversified Alpha fund added 4.1% for the month, bringing its year-to-date gain to 14%. Two Sigma’s Absolute Return Enhanced fund rose 0.6% in July and stands up 9% for the year.
Paris-based Capital Fund Management’s $12.4 billion Stratus fund gained 1.9% in July, pushing its 2026 return to 5.4%. Graham Capital’s Tactical Trend strategy, part of the firm’s $22 billion portfolio, rose 1.8% for the month and is up 23.7% on the year. London-based Qube, which manages $50 billion, had mixed results. Its Torus strategy slipped 0.7% in July, trimming a roughly 18% year-to-date gain, while its original Qube fund edged up 0.1%, though that strategy’s year-to-date return was not disclosed.
Multistrategy funds, which spread bets across geographies and asset classes to profit in any market environment, mostly lost money in July. The sharpest reversal belonged to Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness, a $45 billion tech-focused fund, which fell 67% for the month and sold most of its public equity holdings to repay lenders.