Key Takeaways
- • Don Steinbrugge of Agecroft Partners expects strong inflows into hedge funds as demand for private equity slows.
- • Agecroft expects 2026 to be a good year for long/short equity strategies, supported by widening valuation gaps in stocks.
- • Steinbrugge advocates a contrarian stance, arguing that now is a good time to reallocate portfolios toward areas that have been overlooked.
- • Agecroft publishes annual hedge fund trend forecasts, with its 2026 outlook based on discussions with industry participants.
Summary
Don Steinbrugge of Agecroft Partners outlined his key hedge fund themes for 2026 in a CNBC *Squawk Box Asia* interview on January 14, 2026. He expects strong inflows into hedge funds as institutional demand for private equity slows, positioning hedge funds as a beneficiary of shifting allocator preferences.
Steinbrugge sees 2026 as a favorable year for long/short equity strategies. He attributes this outlook to widening valuation gaps in equity markets, which create more dispersion for stock selection and pair-based approaches to exploit.
He also advocates a contrarian approach to portfolio construction. According to Steinbrugge, the current environment is a good time for investors to reallocate capital toward areas that have been overlooked in the past.
Agecroft Partners, a hedge fund consultancy and manager-selection firm, publishes annual forecasts of hedge fund industry trends, which its 2026 outlook draws on. The full interview's additional detail was not available in the source material reviewed.
Steinbrugge sees 2026 as a favorable year for long/short equity strategies. He attributes this outlook to widening valuation gaps in equity markets, which create more dispersion for stock selection and pair-based approaches to exploit.
He also advocates a contrarian approach to portfolio construction. According to Steinbrugge, the current environment is a good time for investors to reallocate capital toward areas that have been overlooked in the past.
Agecroft Partners, a hedge fund consultancy and manager-selection firm, publishes annual forecasts of hedge fund industry trends, which its 2026 outlook draws on. The full interview's additional detail was not available in the source material reviewed.
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