Goldman Says Darlings of Both Mutual and Hedge Funds Tend to Win

Bloomberg

Published Jun 03, 2019 18:21

Updated Jun 03, 2019 22:25

Goldman Says Darlings of Both Mutual and Hedge Funds Tend to Win

(Bloomberg) -- It’s good to be a beloved stock. And even better if you’re loved by a couple of key investor groups, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS).

Stocks fancied by both mutual and hedge funds have enjoyed higher annualized returns since 2013 than those liked by just one of the two investor types, strategists led by David Kostin wrote in a May 31 report, which noted that each of these three categories beat the S&P 500. Currently, stocks popular with both groups include Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL). and PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL).

“Despite posing a tactical risk, concentrated ownership has generally been a positive signal for subsequent stock returns,” the strategists wrote. “Shared favorites (+18%) have outperformed our hedge fund VIP (+13%) and mutual fund overweight baskets (+15%) year to date.”

Investors often see crowded trades as a sign of an impending reversal. Indeed, crowded positions tend to fare badly in falling equity markets, the Goldman strategists wrote. But their long-term performance advantage found by Kostin et al. in the “wisdom of the crowds” challenges the idea that popular stocks ought to be avoided.

Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C). was the only stock to enter the shared-favorites list this quarter, the report said, while Electronic Arts Inc . (NASDAQ:EA) and T-Mobile US Inc. dropped out. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc. is the sole company to have made the list every quarter for the past five years, the strategists said.