A top BlackRock hedge fund has shifted its portfolio to put more bets on falling stock prices

• Hedge funds are turning more bearish as stocks have sold off in 2022.
• Despite hopes for a market bottom, fund managers aren't betting on a big rebound.

Top hedge funds have stepped up bearish bets in their portfolios amid a sharp market sell-off in 2022, the Financial Times said.

Despite hopes for a market bottom that would signal a green light for bullish bets on stocks, some fund managers remain cautious.

Alister Hibbert, who runs BlackRock's $9 billion Strategic Equity hedge fund, recently reshuffled its portfolio to put more bets on falling stock prices than rising prices, sources told the FT.

BlackRock did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Meanwhile, Landsowne Partners believes tech stocks are still in the early stages of a sell-off, according to the FT, despite the tech-heavy Nasdaq shedding 23% so far this year to hit bear-market territory.

And Odey Asset Management said in a note to clients seen by the FT that it has sharply increased its cash positions.

Such bearishness is unusual for hedge funds, which typically maintain a bias toward the market climbing higher over the long-term.

But global unease over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and rising interest rates could be changing their stances.

The US Federal Reserve is raising rates to combat 40-year high inflation, meaning growth stocks can no longer benefit from cheap borrowing costs to prop up their valuations.