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"Slowing growth, rising interest rates and trade wars contributed to the largest monthly decline in the S&P 500 since September 2011," says Sol Waksman, founder and president of BarclayHedge. "US equity markets lost approximately $2 trillion in value during the month."

Overall, 16 of Barclay's 17 hedge fund indices had losses in October, while only one index had a gain.

In response to the selloff in tech stocks, the BarclayHedge Technology Index dropped 6.70% in October. Equity Long Bias lost 5.48%, Pacific Rim Equities gave up 3.69%, Healthcare & Biotechnology lost 3.42%, and Emerging Markets were down 3.41%.

"Nasdaq dropped 9.2 percent in October, its worst monthly decline since November 2008 when it lost 10.8 percent. The biggest names in the technology sector-Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google-were among the biggest losers," says Waksman.

The only Barclay Hedge Fund index with a gain in October was Fixed Income Arbitrage, which was up 0.17%.

At the end of October, seven hedge fund indices still have positive returns for the year, while 10 now have losses.

The Healthcare & Biotechnology Index leads all indices with a 13.85% gain, Distressed Securities are up 7.13%, Technology has gained 5.60%, Fixed Income Arbitrage is up 1.95%, and the Convertible Arbitrage Index has gained 1.76%.

Year to date, the Emerging Markets Index has lost 10.68%, Pacific Rim Equities are down 5.57%, the Multi-Strategy Index has lost 2.61%, and Equity Long Bias is down 2.48%.

The Barclay Fund of Funds Index gave up 2.69% in October, and has moved into negative territory with a 2.34% loss for the year.