Hedge Fund Managers Are Obsessed With These 23 Stocks — And They've Made A Key Strategic Pivot To Capitalize On Trump's Win
Goldman Sachs found eye-catching trends in its latest analysis of hedge funds.
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- Hedge fund managers have posted one of their strongest performances in 20 years.
- Well-timed bets on cyclical stocks, mega caps, and bitcoin boosted returns.
- Here are 23 stocks that are highly popular among the hedge fund crowd.
Long-short investors have poured money into stocks, even as the post-election rally has stalled.
Hedge fund managers, who are having one of their best years in two decades, have increased their net exposure to stocks to the highest mark since early 2022 in recent weeks, according to Goldman Sachs. The firm's strategists, led by Ben Snider, recently published their quarterly analysis of close to 700 hedge funds that have a combined $3 trillion in equity positions.
Another strong year for US stocks has been friendly to long-short funds, which have logged a 14% annual gain through mid-November. If that performance holds, hedge funds will double the median 7% return en route to their second-best year since the recovery from the financial crisis.
Goldman Sachs
Those robust returns didn't come from diversification. In fact, hedge funds in Goldman's analysis had about 72% of their long assets in their 10 largest holdings — right near a record high. Many of these funds were into similar stocks, as position crowding slipped a bit but stayed elevated.
Goldman Sachs
Hedge funds seem relatively content with their holdings, as fund turnover has fallen throughout the year. Managers swapped 23% of their holdings in the third quarter and 12% of the positions that were in the largest quartile of their fund.
Goldman Sachs
Return-hungry hedge fund managers made big bets ahead of the US elections by boosting their net leverage, as is typical around such monumental events. Those who went long likely rode a major post-election surge, though that momentum has waned in recent sessions.
Goldman Sachs
Where the smart money is going
The consensus on Wall Street is that President-elect Donald Trump's economic agenda will be positive for business and, by extension, economic growth. In turn, cyclical stocks have taken off.
Hedge funds got out ahead of that move by shifting exposure to economically sensitive stocks and away from defensive names throughout the third quarter, which helped them capitalize on the latest market rally. Fund managers favored financials by the most since the financial crisis, while backing away from stocks in the consumer staples, healthcare, and real estate sectors.
Other prescient moves include betting on exchange-traded products tied to bitcoin, which has exploded over 40% higher in the last month, and Chinese stocks, which took off on the back of news about government stimulus but have since cooled off.
Mega-cap growth stocks remain popular among the big-money crowd. Hedge funds shifted toward Nvidia and Tesla as they raced higher, and they pulled back from Apple and Amazon.
However, hedge fund managers are starting to downsize, as Goldman Sachs found that they've moved toward mid-sized stocks at the expense of large caps.
23 stocks that big-money managers love
Hedge funds don't lack conviction, and for good reason, judging by this year's performance.
The most commonly owned stocks by big-money managers have risen roughly 30% in 2024, which is even better than the S&P 500's 24.5% return.
Investors can attempt to replicate that success by buying hedge fund managers' favorite stocks.
Goldman Sachs put together a so-called "Hedge Fund VIP" list made up of stocks that are most commonly in the top-10 holdings of hedge funds with between 10 and 200 positions. This basket of stocks has a strong historical track record, though it isn't sector-neutral, as technology is disproportionately represented while real estate was left off.
Goldman Sachs
Below are the 23 stocks that are top-10 positions of at least 15 hedge funds in the analysis. Along with each is its ticker, market capitalization, industry, the number of funds that own it, the number of funds where it's a top-10 position, and the average weighting among those funds where it's a top-10 holding.
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: AMZN
Market cap: $2,085B
Industry: Broadline Retail
Number of hedge funds that own it: 151
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 107
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 8%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: META
Market cap: $1,409B
Industry: Interactive Media & Services
Number of hedge funds that own it: 122
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 77
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 7%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: MSFT
Market cap: $3,078B
Industry: Systems Software
Number of hedge funds that own it: 126
Number of hedge funds where it’s a top-10 position: 75
Average weight in a hedge funds where it’s a top-10 position: 7%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: GOOGL
Market cap: $2,028B
Industry: Interactive Media & Services
Number of hedge funds that own it: 93
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 48
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 6%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: NVDA
Market cap: $3,537B
Industry: Semiconductors
Number of hedge funds that own it: 93
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 48
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 9%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: AAPL
Market cap: $3,450B
Industry: Technology Hardware Storage & Peripherals
Number of hedge funds that own it: 72
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 34
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 7%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: TSM
Market cap: $823.1B
Industry: Semiconductors
Number of hedge funds that own it: 64
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 26
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 7%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: NFLX
Market cap: $382.7B
Industry: Movies & Entertainment
Number of hedge funds that own it: 52
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 22
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 8%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: HES
Market cap: $46B
Industry: Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
Number of hedge funds that own it: 32
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 21
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 12%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: V
Market cap: $607.9B
Industry: Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Number of hedge funds that own it: 58
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 20
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 6%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: VST
Market cap: $55.7B
Industry: Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders
Number of hedge funds that own it: 43
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 20
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 6%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: TLN
Market cap: $11B
Industry: Independent Power Producers & Energy Traders
Number of hedge funds that own it: 37
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 19
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 12%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: UBER
Market cap: $148B
Industry: Passenger Ground Transportation
Number of hedge funds that own it: 65
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 18
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 9%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: APO
Market cap: $98.5B
Industry: Diversified Financial Services
Number of hedge funds that own it: 31
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 18
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 7%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: SPOT
Market cap: $94.4B
Industry: Movies & Entertainment
Number of hedge funds that own it: 37
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 18
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 6%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: VRT
Market cap: $54.2B
Industry: Electrical Components & Equipment
Number of hedge funds that own it: 36
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 18
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 6%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: MA
Market cap: $475.2B
Industry: Transaction & Payment Processing Services
Number of hedge funds that own it: 43
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 17
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 9%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: CRM
Market cap: $324.1B
Industry: Application Software
Number of hedge funds that own it: 48
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 17
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 7%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: BRK.B
Market cap: $1,018B
Industry: Multi-Sector Holdings
Number of hedge funds that own it: 44
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 17
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 11%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: FLUT
Market cap: $47.5B
Industry: Casinos & Gaming
Number of hedge funds that own it: 30
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 15
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 6%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: K
Market cap: $27.9B
Industry: Packaged Foods & Meats
Number of hedge funds that own it: 26
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 15
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 5%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: LBRDK
Market cap: $12.5B
Industry: Cable & Satellite
Number of hedge funds that own it: 24
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 15
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 14%
Goldman Sachs
Ticker: CRH
Market cap: $68.5B
Industry: Construction Materials
Number of hedge funds that own it: 35
Number of hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 15
Average weight in a hedge funds where it's a top-10 position: 7%
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