Trend-Chasing Traders Soar Just as Market Whiplash Tests Models

Trend-following funds are starting 2026 with fresh momentum, outperforming stocks and bonds after a year of false starts.

The rebound is modest in duration but notable in scale — enough to draw renewed attention to a corner of quant trading many investors had begun to dismiss. It’s also intensifying an uneasy industry debate: how to build momentum-driven portfolios that can survive fast-moving modern markets without diluting the edge that once made them work.