Hedge Fund Picton Buys Volatility, Fearing a New Tariff Tantrum

The head of Canada’s Picton Mahoney Asset Management said the global market volatility that has faded in recent weeks is likely to return, and his firm is betting on it.

Equity markets have rallied sharply since US President Donald Trump paused many of the tariffs he had announced in his “Liberation Day” speech. The S&P 500 has surged 19% since the April 8 close and just notched up its best May since 1990. The VIX Index, a volatility gauge, has tumbled. It closed Friday at 18.57, compared with its lifetime average around 19.5.