It’s no secret that the first quarter of 2018 has experienced significantly more volatility compared to the steady and complacent rise in market indices in 2017. Fears surrounding how many more times the Fed will hike interest rates in 2018 and what that will do to the yield curve, concerns over Trump trade wars, and data privacy issues for “FANG” stocks caused the S&P 500 to encounter its first 10% correction since January 2016 and end its streak of nine quarterly wins, losing 0.8% for the first quarter of 2018. Our closely correlated TSX index lost 4.5% on a total return basis this quarter, making it only the 77th-best performer among its 93 global peers year-to-date.
Our style of long/short investing has served our investors well during the last three months, with each of our funds, Forge First Long Short LP (“FFLSLP”) and Forge First Multi Strategy LP (“FFMSLP”), generating positive net returns in every month so far this year. Please continue reading to get more insight into our macroeconomic view, recap on our funds, and to learn how long/short strategies can reduce volatility in investor portfolios.