Seeking Alpha – The one trend market pundits seem to collectively be predicting with ease for the hedge fund industry is so-called consolidation.
Which is why a list of the 100 largest U.S. hedge funds, ranked by equity assets, buried deep in Goldman Sachs’ recently released report on the state of the hedge fund industry, caught my late summer-diverted attention.
Among a few of the highlights of the 47-page report: U.S. hedge funds now have net long exposure near levels not seen since before Lehman Brothers’ collapse; that hedge funds now own 3.7% of the financial sector’s market capitalization; that 7% of hedge funds have closed since the financial crisis set in; and that managers collectively boosted ownership in financials by 55% on a quarter-over-quarter basis to $70 billion, with Bank of America the favored stock pick.
