Hedge funds had historically high exposure to momentum trades, crowded long bets and equity market returns, according to research firm PivotalPath. For those and other hedge funds, the losses marked a sharp contrast to the earlier wins from their tech-focused bets. As a result, some are still up significantly for the year, underscoring the strength of AI gains during the first half. Other big hedge funds posted smaller declines. Viking Global Investors' hedge fund, which has little AI exposure, lost just 0.2% in July and is now up 2.5% for the year.