The Hedge Fund Podcast with Fexingo: Alternative Investments, Strategies, and Institutional Investing

Episode 79 drills into a single specific trade: hedge funds positioning for a Fed rate hike before year-end 2026. Lucas and Luna break down how the VIX spike to 18.41 and the Nasdaq's 3.3 percent weekly drop are signaling that big money is betting on tighter policy. They walk through the mechanics of the so-called 'Kashkari put,' the flattening yield curve trade, and why some funds are buying bank...

SpaceX is joining the Nasdaq-100 in a fast-tracked process, forcing passive ETFs to buy billions in stock. Hedge funds are front-running the rebalancing, trading index futures, and positioning for volatility. Lucas and Luna break down the mechanics, the profit potential, and the risks of the 'forced buying' trade. With the VIX at 18.4 and the Nasdaq up 22% this year, the episode examines how event...

The CFTC investigation into Polymarket, combined with prediction market trading volumes topping $2.5 billion in Q2 2026, has created a new regulatory-risk trade for hedge funds. Lucas and Luna break down how funds are positioning: long Kalshi equity, short Polymarket volumes via event-driven swaps, and betting on outcomes tied to the probe itself. They cite the VIX at 18.4 and the Fed's hawkish le...

Episode 76 of The Hedge Fund Podcast digs into a quiet but fast-growing edge: hedge funds using prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket as event-driven alpha engines. Lucas and Luna walk through the mechanics, the regulatory risk after the CFTC investigation into Polymarket, and the specific edge funds have over retail bettors. They cite a live example: Kalshi traders pricing an OpenAI IPO a...

With the VIX at 18.41 and the VVIX dropping to 89, hedge funds are exploiting a rare disconnect in volatility term structure. Lucas and Luna break down how multi-strategy firms are selling front-month VIX futures while buying tail-risk protection further out, and why this trade works only when the Fed signals a hawkish pivot. They reference June 26 data, including Kashkari's rate hike comments and...

In this episode of The Hedge Fund Podcast, Lucas and Luna dissect how savvy hedge funds are capitalizing on the massive surge in bond ETF flows as investors hunt for yield in a 3.63% fed funds world. With the S&P 500 down 1.9% in five days and the VIX spiking 17.4% to 20.29, the equity market is wobbling, and money is rotating into fixed-income ETFs. Lucas explains why hedge funds see this not as...

Lucas and Luna dig into the surge in bond ETF flows reported on June 25, 2026 — with assets flowing into fixed-income ETFs at the fastest pace in two years. They explore why hedge funds are treating these flows as a leading indicator for a regime shift in credit markets. The conversation covers how the recent VIX spike to 18.89 and the Nasdaq pullback of 4.4 percent over five days are reinforcing...

Episode 72 of The Hedge Fund Podcast dives into the post-Fed stress test rally in bank stocks. On June 24, 2026, the Federal Reserve announced that the largest US banks could withstand $708 billion in losses under a severe recession scenario. The next day, JPMorgan Chase unveiled a $50 billion buyback and Goldman Sachs raised its dividend. Lucas and Luna break down why hedge funds are piling into...

The Federal Reserve released its 2026 stress test results on June 24, showing U.S. banks can absorb $708 billion in losses under a severe recession scenario. JPMorgan Chase immediately announced a $50 billion buyback, and Goldman Sachs raised its dividend. Lucas and Luna unpack how hedge funds are positioning around the capital return announcements, which banks look most attractive on a risk-adjus...

Episode 70 of The Hedge Fund Podcast with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna dive into the explosion of prediction markets, spurred by Meta's new app and the CFTC's lawsuit against Kentucky. They explore how hedge funds are trading these event-driven contracts, the regulatory battle shaping the space, and whether this is a structural shift or a passing fad. With the VIX at 19.23 and volatility creeping up, f...

The VIX hit 19.49 on June 23, 2026, up 5.7% in five days, while the VVIX jumped 13.5% to 99.50. Lucas and Luna explain why hedge funds are increasingly selling VIX futures and options as insurance sellers, collecting premium in a nervous market. They break down the mechanics of short volatility strategies, the role of the VIX term structure, and how funds are using tail hedges to manage the risk....

Lucas and Luna dissect why hedge funds are piling into short positions on China consumer ETFs after Alibaba and JD.com reported single-digit Singles' Day growth and the June 618 shopping festival confirmed the trend. With the S&P 500 at 7,473 and the Russell 2000 up 1.3% in five days, money is rotating into US small caps while shorting Chinese exposure. Lucas breaks down the specific ETF flows, th...

With Alan Greenspan’s death at age 100, Lucas and Luna dissect how hedge funds are positioning around a potential 'Greenspan put' legacy trade. They examine the VIX at 17.28, the VVIX divergence at 91.72, and how the options market is pricing in a volatility regime shift under Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. The hosts analyze why short-volatility funds are scaling back exposure while tail-risk funds are ad...

Episode 66 of The Hedge Fund Podcast explores a quiet but growing trend: hedge funds are treating personal data as a tradeable commodity. Lucas and Luna break down the mechanics of personal data futures contracts—how they work, who is trading them, and why firms like Citadel and Two Sigma are starting to build positions. They tie the conversation to current market conditions: the VIX at 17.46, a 6...

Lucas and Luna unpack a subtle but important trade inside institutional portfolios right now: the dollar funding basis. With Fed policy in transition under Kevin Warsh and geopolitics shifting around the Strait of Hormuz, the cost of swapping euros into dollars has drifted to levels that active hedge funds are starting to exploit. Lucas walks through the mechanics of covered interest rate parity,...

Lucas and Luna explore the hedge fund strategy of selling volatility as an insurance business in a low-vol regime. With the VIX at 16.78 and VVIX dropping to 88.43, funds are collecting premium while volatility-of-volatility compresses. The hosts break down how funds manage tail risk, the role of SPX options and variance swaps, and why the Warsh Fed's hawkish stance adds complexity. They also disc...

Lucas and Luna drill into the geopolitical shockwave from Iran's renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which sent the VIX up 13.8% this week to 16.78 while the small-cap Russell 2000 slipped 0.9%. They examine how hedge funds are positioning across energy equities, options on crude, and tail-risk hedges in a hawkish Warsh Fed environment. Specific plays include long-dated WTI call spreads, shor...

The VIX is up over 13 percent in the last five days to 16.78, but the VVIX — the volatility-of-volatility index — has barely budged at 88.43. Lucas and Luna unpack why hedge funds are treating this divergence as a signal to sell volatility insurance. They walk through a specific trade: writing VIX calls while buying VVIX calls to hedge tail risk. The hosts debate whether the Warsh Fed hawkish surp...

On June 19, 2026, the S&P 500 sits at 7,501 but small caps are down 0.9% in a week. Lucas and Luna dig into how hedge funds are positioning for a more hawkish Fed under Chairman Warsh than markets expected. They explore the VIX at 16.78, the VVIX divergence, and the rotation out of speculative tech into value. With the Fed funds rate at 3.63% and rates staying higher for longer, hedge funds are us...

SpaceX stock has fallen since its IPO, and some hedge funds are now betting against it. Lucas and Luna break down why funds are shorting a stock that was supposed to be the year's biggest winner. They discuss the mechanics of short selling in a high-volatility name, the role of retail lock-up expirations, and what the VIX at 16.8 and VVIX at 88.4 tell us about the options market's positioning. Plu...

Episode 59 of The Hedge Fund Podcast dives into how macro hedge funds are positioning for a more hawkish Federal Reserve under Chairman Warsh. Lucas and Luna unpack the latest FOMC meeting where Warsh abstained from giving a rate forecast, while several members signaled a potential hike in 2026. They analyze how funds are using options on the VIX and VVIX to hedge against volatility, and how the y...

Hedge fund positioning is shifting fast after Chairman Warsh's first hawkish hold on June 17. Lucas and Luna break down how macro funds are playing the new Fed regime: shorting rate-cut bets, buying options on a 2026 hike, and rotating from long-duration Treasuries to floating-rate credit. They cite the VIX-VVIX spread compression and the Russell 2000's flat week as signals of a regime change. One...

Lucas and Luna dissect how hedge funds are repositioning for a hawkish Fed under Chairman Warsh, who just stripped rate-cut language from the statement and held rates steady at 3.63%. The episode centers on the divergence between the VIX at 18.44 and the VVIX at 94.53—a signal that tail-risk hedges are expensive while spot volatility is calm. Lucas explains why multi-strategy funds are short volat...

Episode 56 of The Hedge Fund Podcast with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna explore the emerging market for AI compute futures, a new asset class that lets investors bet on the price of GPU processing power. They discuss how early hedge fund adopters are using these contracts to speculate on AI demand, hedge against capacity shortages, and arbitrage price differences across cloud providers. With the VIX at...

Episode 55 of The Hedge Fund Podcast. Lucas and Luna dive into the emerging market for AI compute futures—a new asset class that lets traders bet on GPU processing power as a commodity. With the VIX dropping to 16.41 and markets calm, hedge funds are seeking alternative alpha. We break down how firms like Citadel and Two Sigma are positioning in these contracts, the role of prediction markets in p...