Marshall Wace suffered losses across two of its flagship strategies in October as a sharp selloff in technology stocks and heightened bond market volatility weighed on hedge fund performance, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The $80bn London-based hedge fund saw its Eureka strategy decline 5.4% during the month, reducing its year-to-date gain to 5.3%. Its systematic Tops strategy fell 3.6%, leaving it up just 1.3% for the year.

The losses reflect broader weakness across the hedge fund industry, with global managers declining an average of 3% in October, according to data from PivotalPath. Equity-focused strategies were particularly affected as concerns over the profitability of artificial intelligence investments triggered a sharp reversal in previously crowded technology positions.

The Nasdaq 100 entered correction territory after falling 10% from its 6 October peak, as disappointing corporate earnings and concerns over AI-related capital expenditure undermined investor confidence. Semiconductor manufacturer Intel was among the hardest hit, recording a 29% single-session decline.

Fixed income markets also experienced significant volatility, with rising oil prices and political uncertainty in France driving selloffs in French and Italian government bonds relative to German Bunds. The widening spreads disrupted relative-value and arbitrage strategies employed by macro and fixed income hedge funds.

Graham Capital Management's discretionary macro strategy declined 1.8% in October, reducing its year-to-date return to 1.2%. Its quantitative macro strategy proved more resilient, posting a marginal monthly loss while maintaining a 21.6% gain for the year.

The downturn highlights growing performance dispersion across hedge fund strategies as managers contend with simultaneous pressures from technology sector weakness, rising interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty.