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wolfstreet.com / by Wolf Richter •
What are the stocks that the ultimate “smart money” – hedge funds – shorts the most, even in this environment where the Fed and financial engineering, powered by nearly free money, have whipped stocks relentlessly higher? That’s the question. And Goldman Sachs shed some light on it in its new “Hedge Fund Trend Monitor.”
Hedge funds don’t really hedge anymore. They’ve become stock-market jockeys, holding huge chunks of some of the most hyped companies, such as Apple and Facebook, and pharmaceutical companies on the theory that healthcare is eating up an increasing part of individual, corporate, and government spending. Add to it M&A and stock buybacks. It should be a winning trio.
The idea: if enough hedge funds buy enough of the same stocks, their massive buying as a group will help turn this into a self-fulfilling strategy. When the retail buyer finally jumps in, it will help them get out.
But hedge funds are also shorting stocks. In this environment! They know what they’re doing; they’re the “smart money.” How smart?
Hedge fund returns have lagged the S&P 500 index for six years straight through 2014, and only outperformed the index in 3 of the last 12 years, according to Goldman’s prior data, cited by Zero Hedge. That’s how smart they are. But they do charge a lot in fees. That’s how really smart they are!
The post The 30 Stocks the “Smart Money” Hates the Most appeared first on Silver For The People.