Goldman Sachs data shows hedge funds cut equity exposure at fastest rate in two months
Hedge funds reduced their exposure to global equities at the fastest rate in two months last week, with investors selling existing long positions more aggressively than they established new short bets, according to a report by Investing.com citing data from Goldman Sachs' Prime Services business.
Goldman Sachs data reveals that hedge funds significantly reduced their equity exposure last week, marking the fastest rate in two months. According to a report by Hedgeweek, investors sold existing long positions more aggressively than they opened new short positions, resulting in a 2.3 standard deviation drop from the average level over the past year.
Long positions accounted for the majority of the reduction, with long sales outpacing new shorts by a ratio of 1.8 to 1. The decline was observed across major regions, with the largest dollar declines in North America and emerging Asian markets. Information technology was the most heavily sold sector, experiencing the sharpest percentage decline in gross exposure in over two years.
Interestingly, energy was the only sector to record net buying, attracting its strongest inflows in nearly four years. This sector has now registered net purchases in 12 of the past 13 weeks, indicating a sustained shift in hedge fund positioning towards energy. The overall reduction in equity exposure lowered aggregate net leverage across Goldman Prime Services' book to 76.8%, positioning the hedge funds in the 27th percentile of their range over the past year.
Brief written by urgent.news from Hedgeweek's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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