Goldman's Alpha fund down 12%, this should more than offset the score in China.. Could this $10 move priced into options be to the downside? This isnt something I would touch with a 10ft pole going into the earnings, but still some grounds for discussion exist. "MSN Money Central reports: Goldman Sachs' $10bn flagship hedge fund, Global Alpha, is down nearly 12 per cent for the year, people familiar with the hedge fund's performance said. The fund, which gained 40 per cent last year, is now on track for its worst annual performance. However, the highly volatile fund has been down more than 12 per cent at times in the past, though it has never finished a year down that much. Goldman officials stressed that the fund often goes through difficult periods. They said investors in the fund, which include wealthy Goldman clients and the group's own partners, have earned handsome returns since the fund's inception in 1995. "The fund was expected to be volatile," Goldman spokesman Peter Rose said. He added that the fund's prospectus makes clear that big swings are possible. Global Alpha is a macro fund which uses quantitative models to make big bets on currencies, stocks and other instruments. This summer it bet that Japanese bonds and 10-year US Treasuries would rise. Both dove to the bottom of the pool. "