"We take an active approach on the options side, " said Kyle G. McClements, BlackRock's head of equity derivative strategies.

The business has one equity strategy and the Fundsmith Equity Fund is the main vehicle for Smith's own equity investments.

These funds of hedge funds specializes in equity related strategies (long/short, activist and event driven strategies).

They use a long-short equity strategy in Asian and European markets.

Strategic block investors tend to focus on publicly quoted companies but may also pursue more traditional private equity strategies.

"It's a way of branding," said Steven A. Schoenfeld, head of international equity strategies at Barclays Global Investors.

"Typically, major price movements this year have been one-day events," said David G. Shulman, chief of equity strategy at Salomon Brothers.

Apollo invests through a variety of private equity strategies, most notably leveraged buyouts and distressed buyouts and debt investments.

"This is a difficult time for brands," said Jason James, who is in charge of global equity strategy at HSBC in London.

Chris Orndorff, head of equity strategy at Payden & Rygel, an asset manager in Los Angeles, says he doesn't usually pay much attention to seasonal differences.