The market has been a fertile stock picking environment for mutual funds and hedge funds this year, and Goldman Sachs said it found a handful of stocks loved by both cohorts. The Wall Street bank analyzed the holdings of 744 hedge funds with $2.4 trillion of gross equity positions as well as the holdings of 528 mutual funds with $2.8 trillion of assets under management at the start of the third quarter, based on regulatory filings.
However, they tend to have a strong, longer-term track record of outperformance. An equal-weighted list of shared favorites has generated an annualized return of 14%, compared to 13% for the S & P 500. It also has a 59% monthly hit rate of outperformance, Goldman said. Stocks have been driven by company-specific news this year, as opposed to the macroeconomic environment, Goldman said.