Goldman Sachs: Hedge funds cut tech stocks at the fastest pace in at least a decade

Goldman Sachs prime brokerage data shows that hedge funds reduced their holdings of tech stocks at the fastest pace in at least a decade. In the five trading days through October 15, the scale of hedge funds' cuts to tech stock positions was the largest since Goldman began tracking the data in 2016. Meanwhile, a report from Goldman Sachs Global Banking & Markets showed that overall trading activity fell at the fastest pace in nearly three months. Hedge funds sold off as global tech stocks plunged. As the AI-themed trade retreated globally, the Nasdaq 100 fell 5.5% last week, its biggest drop since April 2025. During the five trading days covered by Goldman's data, tech stocks were the worst-performing sector in the MSCI World Index. Goldman data shows that net selling flows in global equities reached two standard deviations of flows over the past year. Net selling in the information technology sector was far ahead of other sectors, with information technology the most prominent in net selling, while semiconductors saw the largest selling amount. However, hedge funds still hold substantial tech positions. The report said the tech sector accounts for 23.5% of global Prime holdings, and net allocation to the sector remains in the 90th percentile of the past five years. But hedge funds have become more cautious. Net leverage fell to a one-year low of 48.6%, a measure of the extent to which long positions exceed short positions.