John Flood, Head of Americas Equities Execution Services at Goldman Sachs, brings frontline trading-floor perspective. He discusses geopolitical uncertainty driving macro hedges. He highlights record share volumes amid thin S&P futures liquidity. He explains why ETF trading above 40% signals stress and unpacks crowded trades in Asia, semiconductors, and momentum.
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Institutions Keep Longs But Flood The Market With Hedges
Institutional investors are hedging heavily despite keeping core single-stock longs due to macro and geopolitical uncertainty.
Hedge funds are shorting macro products like futures, ETFs, and custom baskets to preserve alpha while protecting against headline risk.
insights INSIGHT
Record Volume Masks A Sharp Liquidity Drop
Market volumes are at record highs while liquidity is deteriorating, creating larger price impact for sizable institutional trades.
Goldman Sachs measures S&P top-of-book depth, which fell from a $14–15M historical average to about $3.8M on the day discussed.
insights INSIGHT
Rising ETF Share Signals Market Stress
ETFs now represent an outsized share of trading as institutions use them to hedge macro risk, signaling stress when ETF share rises above normal.
ETF share of tape moved north of 40% versus a healthy 30–32%, amplifying signals of market stress.
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Geopolitical uncertainty and a decline in S&P 500 liquidity are prompting institutional investors to hedge against macro risks. How are investors responding to surging volumes and shifting thematic trades? John Flood, head of Americas Equities Execution Services in Goldman Sachs Global Banking & Markets, discusses with Chris Hussey on the Goldman Sachs trading floor.
Recorded on March 12, 2026.
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