Highlights

• +566% Cumulative Return: Our AI-Powered Combined Long/Short Strategy delivered +566.3% since 2020, compared to +52.2% for the S&P 500 — an outperformance of over +514%.
• Proven Resilience in Volatile Markets: The strategy predicted downturns in February and April 2025, maintained gains during the 2022 bear market, and dynamically adapted to shifting macro conditions.
• Tailored for Institutions: We design complete portfolio solutions — not just signals — built to fit each client’s exposure limits, risk profile, and performance goals, with seamless integration into any strategy.

2025 has made one thing undeniably clear: hedge funds can no longer rely solely on traditional models or human-driven strategies to stay competitive. The future of alpha generation is algorithmic, adaptive, and autonomous.

Today’s markets are simply too fast, too complex, and too data-heavy for outdated decision-making structures. Macro events unfold overnight, entire sectors rotate in days, and investor sentiment turns on a headline. In this environment, AI isn’t just a support tool — it’s becoming the Portfolio Manager (in theory, of course — but the performance proves the point).

AI can:

• Analyze thousands of assets in real time
• Detect patterns invisible to human analysts
• Weigh risk factors across multiple time horizons
• Rebalance and adapt before human reaction even begins

While many hedge funds are still siloed in their execution — split across discretionary teams, quant models, and legacy systems — AI enables a unified, end-to-end investment logic that is fast, flexible, and forward-looking.

And this is not a vision of the future — it’s already happening.

Our AI-Powered Combined Long/Short Strategy

At I Know First, we built a strategy that reflects this shift. Our Combined Long/Short portfolio, powered by our proprietary self-learning AI algorithm, doesn’t just beat the market — it outperforms most hedge funds.

By evaluating each asset’s signal strength and predictability across six time horizons, confirming macro direction, and optimizing portfolio exposure, our strategy generated +21% YTD and +7.30% in June — placing it ahead of the best names in the hedge fund world.

Since launching the Combined Long/Short Strategy in 2020, we’ve not only generated consistent alpha — we’ve done so with lower drawdowns than the benchmark. The portfolio delivered a cumulative return of +602.86% vs just +89.84% for the S&P 500 over the same period. This represents an outperformance of more than +513%.

What makes this strategy exceptional is its balance between performance and risk. Even in difficult years like 2022, the model maintained positive returns where the S&P plunged nearly -20%. And when the market rebounded, the strategy scaled up exposure, outperforming again.

Our Combined Strategy incorporates:

• Long/Short positioning based on directional signal strength
• Multi-level ETF integration (GICS L1 & L2 for diversification)
• Monthly rebalancing to adapt to macro shifts
• Stock filtering through our predictability algorithm

Our focus isn’t just on maximizing returns — it’s on delivering consistent, high-quality returns relative to risk. The strategy is designed to perform well in both bull and bear markets, while maintaining a stable risk profile. It minimizes drawdowns and volatility, ensuring smoother performance over time. This is exactly what institutional investors seek today: a strategy that not only captures upside, but controls downside with discipline and precision.

Performance Snapshot: The New Standard for Hedge Fund Results

Despite a strong +4.96% return in June and +5.38% YTD for the S&P 500, most hedge funds struggled to consistently beat the index.

While some funds generated solid returns, few achieved both performance and adaptability.

Our AI-powered strategy didn’t just keep pace — it led the pack. By predicting market stress events early in February and April and reallocating dynamically, our system delivered consistent results even in volatile conditions.

2025: A Year of Chaos… and Opportunity

This year has tested every portfolio manager’s strategy and stress tolerance.

Markets were whipsawed by:

• Tariff escalations and unexpected global trade restrictions in Q1 and Q2
• The ongoing war in the Middle East, driving oil volatility and global uncertainty
• Rising geopolitical risks in Asia and Eastern Europe
• Concerns over U.S. Fed policy pivots, inflation data surprises, and election-year volatility
• Sector rotations and liquidity crunches, especially in small caps and AI/tech plays

And yet, amid all this uncertainty, the S&P 500 hit record highs.

What this shows is that it’s not about the direction of the market — it’s about agility. Only adaptive systems that learn and react in real time can thrive.

Our AI model didn’t just survive the chaos — it anticipated it, adjusted weightings, rebalanced exposures, and uncovered high-return opportunities faster than any discretionary model could.

Why We’re the Right AI Partner for Hedge Funds

We’re not experimenting. We’re not simulating. We’re delivering real-time, AI-powered forecasting — and managing live portfolios across the globe.

At I Know First, we do more than generate signals. We help institutions select, build, and manage complete AI-based portfolios — tailored to their goals, limitations, and risk profiles.

Here’s what sets us apart:

• Full portfolio management support: From ticker selection to weighting, exposure control, and rebalancing schedules — we build strategies around your needs, not just predictions.
• Customized solutions: Whether you have specific sector restrictions, risk constraints, or market preferences, our AI adapts. We don’t force one strategy on everyone — we co-develop the right fit with you.
• Battle-tested strategies: Beyond our Combined Long/Short model, we’ve developed and backtested multiple strategies across different timeframes, volatility regimes, and asset classes — all with clear, documented performance.
• Trusted by financial institutions: Our AI technology is already being used by institutional investors, wealth managers, and family offices worldwide (client identities are confidential, but results are real).
• Flexible integration: Whether you want to plug into our signals, run a shadow portfolio, or launch a fully managed strategy — we make it simple.

You don’t have to rebuild your fund.
You don’t have to replace your analysts.
You just have to add the edge.

Want to see what a tailored AI-powered strategy could look like for your fund?

📧 Contact us at iknowfirst@iknowfirst.com