Behind the scenes the slide in the Chinese stock market is said to be blamed on “Americans,” in particular prop shops and funds, some with derivatives market experience. A relative value strategy is emerging as the likely culprit, a source said, but the details of the trade are not as important as the punishment, which is said to go beyond arrest.

This comes as reporting discrepancies in hedge fund performance reporting are making real time analysis different for certain hedge fund investors.

Watching hedge fund performance reporting: real time vs monthly visibility

In hedge fund performance reporting there is typically a delay between the point official results are tallied – done in some cases on a monthly basis – and when a market move such as the slide in Chinese stocks is reflected in traditional performance reporting.  Some databases use a monthly update system, while many alternative asset platforms require performance updates on a more timely fashion.

Some platforms monitor performance daily while others use a bi-weekly approach. Some platforms rely on the manager to report, while others, particularly the private ones, rely on direct account tracking on a day to day basis, tallying each manager's P&L.

The more sophisticated direct managed account platform risk management procedures are known to track the exact positions of various Hedge Funds – when a direct account is used, particularly in algorithmic trading – and then the investor actually has an intraday risk management view.  Some quantitative funds and funds of funds are known to have internal risk management views into all the actual positions and the manager knows, to the second, their current account value, leverage ratios and global positioning.

The exact system details behind the scenes at HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) (LON:HSBA) are unknown, but it is now that the slide in Chinese stocks is apparent, to degrees, in hedge fund performance statistics.