The top 10 hedge funds heavily sold-off their equity holdings in the third quarter of the year , according to the S&P Capital IQ Hedge Fund Tracker for Q3 2015.
In Q3, the top funds managed approximately USD191 billion in equity assets, down USD9 billion from Q2. This decline in equity holdings reflects the market drop that occurred over the third quarter and an aggregate decline in overall equity holdings. Top funds held a total of 441 different stock positions in Q3, down from 471 in Q2. Tech sector stocks led the sell-off, with eBay earning the distinction of most-sold stock among the top ten pure play hedge funds. The top buy among hedge funds was Amazon.
"With their enormous volume of assets under management, the largest pure play hedge funds serve as a microcosm for patterns of buying and selling that may have far-reaching ramifications for global markets," says Pavle Sabic (pictured), Financial Risk Manager, S&P Capital IQ. "By consistently tracking hedge fund buying and selling activity in this manner, we seek to take the pulse of this vital segment of the marketplace to give investors the insights they need to make better decisions."
Based on these trends among hedge fund managers, S&P Capital IQ also produced a Trends & Ideas research note which names specific ETFs that are weighted toward the stocks named in the 2015 Q3 Hedge Fund Tracker. The note also spotlights significant hedge fund outflows in two emerging market ETFs, the Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) during the quarter. It also highlights a number of ETFs, including the Global X Guru ETF (GURU), the Global X Guru Activist ETF (ACTX) and the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha (ALFA), which are accessible investment vehicles through which individual investors can participate in the hedge fund trends identified in the S&P Capital IQ 2015 Q3 Hedge Fund Tracker.
"ETFs have become increasingly popular with individual and institutional investors alike, with many of the trends we're seeing in the quarterly Hedge Fund Tracker also manifesting themselves in ETF inflows and outflows," says Todd Rosenbluth, S&P Capital IQ Director of ETF Research. "Whether investors are looking to tap into similar themes as the large hedge funds or just monitor activity for clues into overall investor sentiment, ETFs are a vital segment to watch right now."
