Hedge funds and other managed money accounts are often referred to as “smart money.” After all, investors willing to pay their sometimes hefty fees are seeking the best returns on investment.

In the third quarter of 2017, hedge funds raised their stakes in several S&P 500 sectors and cut their exposure is several others. Funds raised their stake in technology stocks to 21.67% compared to an S&P tech stock share of 20.75%. Financial stocks attracted nearly 20% of hedge fund investment compared with about 19% of their part in the S&P 500. The services sector was another popular hedge fund investment, nabbing just over 17% of fund dollars compared to their 15% position in the S&P 500.

The five most popular stocks among hedge funds were all tech stocks: Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT); Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL); Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN); Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB); and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Hedge funds increased their positions in Microsoft and Amazon while reducing their holdings in the other three.

The data were reported Monday morning by WalletHub, which analyzed the filings of more than 400 top hedge funds and identified the funds’ biggest holdings, new positions, recent exits, and other details.

The most purchased stocks in the third quarter were:

1. Bank of America Corp.
2. General Electric Co.
3. Microsoft Corp.
4. Symantec Corp.
5. Crown Castle International Corp.
6. UnitedHealth Group Inc.
7. Becton, Dickinson and Co.
8. Gilead Sciences Inc.
9. Netflix Inc.
10. Eli Lilly and Co.

The most sold stocks during the quarter were:

1. Apple Inc.
2. IBM
3. Starbucks Corp.
4. Amazon
5. Alphabet
6. O’Reilly Automotive Inc.
7. General Motors Co.
8. The Home Depot Inc.
9. Charter Communications Inc.
10. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

For more details and expert commentary, visit the WalletHub website.

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