There are a some exchange traded funds, a couple of which have been rather successful, that offer investors the opportunity to mimic hedge fund strategies or own stocks that have been widely owned by hedge funds.
With the Goldman Sachs of the 50 stocks largest hedge fund followings out this week, investors can examine the list and construct their own portfolios of sector exchange traded funds to access an array of stocks the smart money favors. The list can be viewed here, courtesy of the Wall Street Journal’s Steven Russolillo.
A quick look at the list of most widely held hedge fund stocks shows these funds love big-name technology stocks, making the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLK) and rival ETFs ideal ways to get exposure to multiple stocks that are in vogue among hedge fund managers.
Nearly 60 hedge funds show Google (NasdaqGS: GOOG) as a top-10 holding while 51 feature Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL) among their top-10 holdings. Hedge funds also are not shying away from older tech names as 37 have Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT) as a top-10 holding, the Journal reports, citing the Goldman list.
Apple, Microsoft and both classes of Google shares combine for about 32% of XLK’s weight. The $12.3 billion XLK hit a new 52-week high Friday. [Tech ETF Hits New High]
Recent 13F filings show the 50 largest hedge funds boosted their Verizon exposure in the first quarter “to the tune of $2.9 billion — a 328% rise from the fourth quarter,” reports William Watts for MarketWatch. Eighteen hedge funds show Verizon (NYSE: VZ) as a top-10 holding. The Dow component is XLK’s third-largest holding. [Telecom ETFs Stand Strong]
Media stocks are also popular among hedge funds. Ten of the 50 stocks on the Goldman list are media names. That group includes CBS (NYSE: CBS), DISH Network (NasdaqGS: DISH) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC).