Exchange Traded Funds are becoming an important market for hedge funds as BofAML notes, they have shifted their profiles from shorting single stocks to more actively using ETFs as a hedge. On aggregate, BofAML reports that hedge funds owned $36.9bn worth of ETFs at the beginning of 3Q 2014, up notably from $33.8bn in the previous quarter, and these are the top 25 by market value.
Notably, hedge funds bought Agricultural business (MOO) along with Emerging Markets (EEM, VWO), while selling gold (GDX and GLD) and Italy index (EWI).
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Our universe consists of 758 ETFs listed in the US with market caps of at least $100mn as of June 30, 2014.
Source: BofAML
