were down 2.9% for the week to October 15th, even though they were still up 14.3% year to date. Asia was the epicenter: the bank said Asia-focused stock pickers fell 2.6% on Wednesday and were down 6.8% for the first half of the month, while chip-heavy benchmarks echoed the move, with South Korea’s KOSPI down 8% to a six-month low and Taiwan stocks off more than 3%.
Why should I care?
For markets: Goldman’s 2.6% one-day hit to Asia-focused stock pickers can quickly pressure the KOSPI and Taiwan equities.
When lots of funds lose money at the same time, the key question shifts from “is the AI story intact?” to “how much risk can managers still run?” Prime brokers – the banks that lend to and clear trades for hedge funds – can demand more collateral after a drawdown, and many funds also have internal limits on leverage and position size. To get back in bounds fast, managers often cut the most liquid holdings first, which in an AI-led unwind typically means big semiconductor and supply-chain names. That mechanical selling can turn hedge-fund losses into broader index moves, concentrating near-term downside and volatility risk in semiconductor-heavy markets like South Korea and Taiwan.