A group of hedge funds’ favorite stocks is beating the broader market even as volatility runs wild on Wall Street, according to Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street bank analyzed the holdings of 684 fundamentally driven hedge funds with $3.1 trillion of gross equity positions at the end of March, based on regulatory filings. It then compiled a basket of the most popular long positions, dubbed Goldman’s “Hedge Fund VIP basket,” consisting of 50 stocks that most frequently appear among hedge funds’ 10 largest holdings. “From an implementation standpoint, the Hedge Fund VIP list represents a tool for investors seeking to ‘follow the smart money’ based on 13-F filings,” Goldman said in a note to clients. The VIP basket has outperformed the S & P 500 this year with a gain of 6%, compared to the S & P 500′s mere 1% return. This Goldman portfolio has a long history of beating the market, trouncing the S & P 500 in 59% of the quarters since 2001. The stock market has experienced extreme volatility this year as the macro environment grew uncertain. President Donald Trump’s shocking tariff rollout early April pushed the S & P 500 briefly into bear market territory, and weeks later, the equity benchmark fully made back those losses as some of the heavy duties were paused. Big Tech stocks are still well-loved by hedge funds at the end of the first quarter. Amazon , Meta , Microsoft , Nvidia and Alphabet remained the five most popular stocks by the cohort. The tech sector also represents the largest weight (24%) in the basket. Apple slipped to the No. 9 spot on the list from No. 6 at the end of 2024. The iPhone maker has underperformed the market this year, with shares down more than 17%. As for other names tied to the artificial intelligence theme, Lam Research and Micron Technology joined this quarter’s list of hedge fund VIPs, Goldman said.
