Hedge funds fuel volatility
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 : PermalinkInvestorDaily- Hedge fund participation in the share market downturn has only intensified the markets’ rapid fall, according to Australian Unity chief investment officer David Bryant.
"They make a lot of money very quickly on the downside and unfortunately the Australian market, in relative size terms is an easy target for some of these," he said.
On January 21 the All Ordinaries Index dropped the most since the October 1989 stock market mini-crash on worries that a potential US recession could cause a slowdown in global demand for commodities. However the markets rebounded at the end of the week.
The index fell to its lowest level in over a year, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index declined the most since data began in 1992.