Markets
The Most Popular Stocks in Hedge Fund Portfolios
See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.
The Most Popular Stocks in Hedge Fund Portfolios
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
In 2023, hedge funds managed over $4 trillion in assets, hitting a record high.
While the industry saw tepid returns over much of the last decade, it has seen a resurgence in interest amid a rising rate environment. Often, hedge funds cater to an investor base of pension funds, high-net worth investors, and university endowments.
The above graphic shows the most popular hedge fund investments, based on 13F filings via WhaleWisdom.
The Top Hedge Fund Investments
Overall, Microsoft stands as the most popular company, with 874 hedge funds holding the stock.
As the megacap ramps up its AI offerings, it is capturing significant interest from hedge funds. In 2024, Microsoft shares are up over 20% as of June 24, sitting near all-time highs. Like Microsoft, a substantial share of hedge funds hold big tech stocks such as Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia.
Here are the most commonly held stocks in hedge fund portfolios as of the first quarter of 2024:
| Rank | Company | Share of Hedge Funds Holding the Stock | Number of Hedge Funds Holding the Stock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft | 44% | 874 |
| 2 | Amazon | 42% | 835 |
| 3 | Alphabet Class A | 38% | 745 |
| 4 | Apple | 36% | 714 |
| 5 | Meta | 36% | 710 |
| 6 | Nvidia | 34% | 675 |
| 7 | Alphabet Class C | 32% | 631 |
| 8 | Visa | 31% | 617 |
| 9 | JPMorgan Chase & Co | 29% | 570 |
| 10 | Berkshire Hathaway Class B | 28% | 564 |
| 11 | Mastercard | 26% | 521 |
| 12 | UnitedHealth Group | 26% | 518 |
| 13 | Johnson & Johnson | 26% | 517 |
| 14 | ExxonMobil Corp | 25% | 499 |
| 15 | Eli Lilly & Co. | 25% | 498 |
Ranking in fourth is Apple, with 36% of hedge funds investing in the company.
On a net basis, hedge funds added over 26 million shares of Apple to their portfolios over the quarter, the highest among the group. Hedge funds are increasingly warming up to the stock ahead of Apple introducing AI enhancements to its iPhones this year or in 2025.
By contrast, hedge funds made the greatest reductions in Nvidia and Alphabet on a net basis. Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management LLC was among the hedge funds that sold Alphabet Class A shares, in addition to Amazon shares.
Thanks to big tech’s outsized role in driving stock market gains, hedge funds have broadly increased their exposure to companies tied to AI technologies over the last year. A separate analysis from Goldman Sachs found that 20% of the total net market value of hedge fund investments were in the Magnificent Seven in August 2023. This marked a record level of exposure to these companies.
Beyond tech giants, a large number of hedge funds hold shares of Visa, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and Berkshire Hathaway. Over the last decade, many of these financial heavyweights have seen strong returns, including Visa returning nearly 19% on average annually. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase & Co witnessed over 16% average returns over the same period.
Markets
The Stocks Driving S&P 500 Returns in 2024
We show the top 10 S&P 500 stocks that are fueling the market’s rally as the index hovers near record-highs.
The Stocks Driving S&P 500 Returns in 2024
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
The S&P 500 is sitting at near-record highs, returning 15% year-to-date as of June 26, 2024.
Today, a limited number of stocks are powering the stock market’s rally as investors pour money into companies that are advancing AI technologies. As share prices skyrocket, many wonder if company valuations are overheated—or if they are supported by strong corporate fundamentals.
This graphic shows the top 10 S&P 500 stocks driving stock market returns in 2024, based on data from Goldman Sachs.
Big Tech Stocks Are Fueling Gains
Below, we show the companies making the largest contribution to the S&P 500’s rally:
| Rank | Company | Ticker | Contribution to S&P 500 Return YTD as of June 13, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nvidia | NVDA | 4.94% |
| 2 | Microsoft | MSFT | 1.24% |
| 3 | Alphabet | GOOGL | 0.97% |
| 4 | Meta | META | 0.84% |
| 5 | Apple | AAPL | 0.81% |
| 6 | Amazon | AMZN | 0.72% |
| 7 | Broadcom | AVGO | 0.62% |
| 8 | Eli Lilly & Co. | LLY | 0.60% |
| 9 | Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | 0.22% |
| 10 | QUALCOMM | QCOM | 0.21% |
| Total S&P 500 Return YTD 2024 | 14.65% |
As of June 13, 2024.
Chipmaker Nvidia has driven over a third of S&P 500 returns this year, with its share price soaring 162% year-to-date as of June 13, 2024.
In June, Nvidia became the world’s most valuable firm, commanding an estimated 70% to 95% of the AI chip market. In the latest quarter, revenue surged by threefold compared to a year earlier amid high chip demand. Overall, big tech companies such as Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft made up roughly 45% of its data-center revenue, with Meta running a staggering 350,000 H100 chips to power its AI systems this year alone.
Falling in second is Microsoft, which has invested billions in AI startups including OpenAI and Wayve, a self-driving car firm. Microsoft is a cloud service provider for ChatGPT, the large language model built by OpenAI. As AI demand exceeds capacity, and other business segments see solid growth, Microsoft’s revenue increased 17% year-over-year as of the second quarter of 2024.
Google’s parent, Alphabet, ranks next, followed by Meta and Apple. Each of these companies is working on their own large language model which costs millions to train and run. Together, the top five stocks are driving about 60% of the S&P 500’s returns.
As we can see, just two of the top 10 S&P 500 stocks are not big tech names: pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Berkshire Hathaway. This year, Eli Lilly’s share price is surging due to strong demand for its weight loss drug, Zepbound. During the first quarter of 2024, the newly-approved drug generated over $517 million in sales. Given its reported effectiveness, some analysts are forecasting it could be the best-selling drug ever in American history.
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