While hedge fund returns outpaced the broader market through the first half of the year, volatility among the most popular equities, low net leverage in a rising bull market and disastrous bets of concentrated short positions have reversed that trend, according to a recent Goldman Sachs Portfolio Strategy Research report. (See also: How Goldman's Hedge Fund Picks Beat The Market.) Goldman Sachs' quarterly Hedge Fund Trend Monitor, released Monday, analyzed the holdings of 830 hedge funds with $2.3 trillion of gross equity positions at the start of the third quarter.