The Most Popular Stocks in Hedge Fund Portfolios

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June 25, 2024 Article/Editing: Graphics/Design:

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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:

RankCompanyShare of Hedge Funds
Holding the StockNumber of Hedge Funds
Holding the Stock 1Microsoft44%874 2Amazon42%835 3Alphabet Class A38%745 4Apple36%714 5Meta36%710 6Nvidia34%675 7Alphabet Class C32%631 8Visa31%617 9JPMorgan Chase & Co29%570 10Berkshire Hathaway
Class B28%564 11Mastercard26%521 12UnitedHealth Group26%518 13Johnson & Johnson26%517 14ExxonMobil Corp25%499 15Eli Lilly & Co.25%498 Advertisement

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

The Growth of $100 Invested in Jim Simons’ Medallion Fund

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June 19, 2024 Article/Editing: Graphics/Design:

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$100 Invested in Jim Simons’ Medallion Fund vs. the S&P 500

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 late Jim Simons was arguably the best trader of all-time, achieving 66% average gross annual returns over the span of three decades.

At the age of 40, the former mathematics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard built the renowned hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, out of a strip mall in Long Island. Notably, Simons applied artificial intelligence and massive datasets to build an automated trading system that detected price patterns back in the 1980s.

This graphic shows the extraordinary performance of Simons’ flagship Medallion Fund in comparison to the S&P 500 over the same time period, based on data from Gregory Zuckerman’s The Man Who Solved the Market via Cornell Capital Group.

The Best Performing Fund in Modern History

Below, we show the performance of the Medallion Fund between 1988 and 2018 compared with the S&P 500 index using data from TradingView. Figures are based on net returns, which factor in fund and performance fees:

YearMedallion Fund Net Return$100 invested in the Medallion Fund (net returns)S&P 500 Return$100 invested in the S&P 500 19889.04%$109.0412.40%$112.40 1989-3.20%$105.5527.25%$143.03 199058.24%$167.02-6.56%$133.65 199139.44%$232.9026.31%$168.81 199233.60%$311.154.46%$176.34 199339.12%$432.877.06%$188.79 199470.72%$739.00-1.13%$186.65 199538.32%$1,022.1933.56%$249.29 199631.52%$1,344.3820.26%$299.80 199721.20%$1,629.3931.01%$392.77 199841.68%$2,308.5226.67%$497.52 199924.48%$2,873.6419.53%$594.69 200098.48%$5,703.61-10.12%$534.51 200133.02%$7,586.94-13.05%$464.75 200225.82%$9,545.88-23.37%$356.14 200321.90%$11,636.4326.38%$450.09 200424.92%$14,536.238.99%$490.55 200529.51%$18,825.873.00%$505.27 200644.30%$27,165.7413.62%$574.09 200773.42%$47,110.823.53%$594.35 200883.38%$86,391.82-38.49%$365.59 200938.98%$120,067.3623.45%$451.32 201029.40%$155,367.1612.78%$508.99 201137.02%$212,884.080.00%$508.99 201229.01%$274,641.7613.41%$577.25 201346.93%$403,531.1329.60%$748.12 201439.20%$561,715.3411.39%$833.33 201536.01%$763,989.03-0.73%$827.24 201635.62%$1,036,121.939.54%$906.16 201745.02%$1,502,584.0219.42%$1,082.14 201839.98%$2,103,317.11-6.24%$1,014.61 Total percentage return (1988-2018)2,103,217.1%914.61%

As the above table shows, the value of $100 invested in the Medallion Fund in 1998 would have grown to over $2.1 million by 2018 net of fees.

It’s worth noting these fees were significant. They included a 5% fixed fee and