Global equity markets came under significant pressure in March as geopolitical tensions linked to the Middle East conflict drove heightened volatility across regions and asset classes, but energy stocks stood out as a rare area of relative strength for hedge funds, according to new data from Hazeltree.
The treasury and liquidity management provider said hedge fund positioning data showed a sharp rotation into the energy sector during the month, with the number of funds holding long positions rising 55% compared with February. Around 44% of tracked securities within the sector also recorded increases of more than 10% in fund long interest over the same period.
Hazeltree said the shift reflected a combination of macro positioning and geopolitical risk hedging, as investors responded to uncertainty and volatility in global oil and broader commodity markets.
The data is drawn from Hazeltree’s securities-finance platform, which aggregates anonymised positioning information from more than 600 hedge funds across approximately 16,000 securities globally.
While energy attracted inflows, the broader hedge fund positioning landscape remained concentrated in a small number of sectors across regions. Information technology, industrials and financials continued to rank among the most crowded trades across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions, both on the long and short side.
According to Hazeltree, these sector concentrations have remained broadly consistent since late 2025, suggesting persistent consensus positioning among global hedge funds despite shifting macro conditions.
At the single-name level, several notable shifts in positioning were recorded across regions. In North America, large-cap names such as Microsoft saw increased long interest, alongside mid-cap and small-cap industrial and healthcare-related companies. Meanwhile, short positioning increased in names including Cloudflare, MGM Resorts International and Canadian Solar, among others.
In Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), long interest increased in names such as NatWest Group and AXA, while select mid- and small-cap industrial and mining-related companies also saw higher fund participation. On the short side, positioning rose in companies including AUTO1 Group and Tate & Lyle, among others.
In Asia-Pacific, hedge fund longs increased in select industrial and technology-related names, while short positioning rose in companies including Xiaomi and Alibaba Health Information Technology, reflecting continued divergence in regional macro and growth expectations.
Hazeltree noted that energy equities stood out as a clear outlier during the period, with one example highlighting natural gas producer EQT Corporation, which saw a meaningful rise in hedge fund long interest alongside a decline in short positioning. The firm suggested the move reflected a broader reassessment of energy as a geopolitical hedge during the conflict.
Industry observers said the March positioning trends underscore how quickly hedge fund exposures can shift in response to geopolitical shocks, particularly in sectors directly linked to commodity markets.
Tim Smith, managing director of data insights at Hazeltree, said energy stocks had become a focal point for hedge fund allocations during the escalation of conflict, supported by macro-driven positioning and increased attention to supply risk.
Despite the turbulence, the report also highlighted continued clustering of hedge fund exposure in a relatively narrow set of global sectors, with information technology, industrials and financials consistently ranking among the most crowded trades across regions.
Hazeltree’s crowdedness metric is based on the relative concentration of hedge fund long and short positions within its dataset, normalised across sectors, regions and market capitalisation bands.
The firm said the latest data reinforces a broader pattern of concentrated positioning across global hedge fund portfolios, even as geopolitical volatility drives short-term shifts in sector preferences, particularly in energy markets.
