On Tuesday’s episode of Mad Money, host Jim Cramer highlighted a growing influence in the market that, in his view, is often overlooked: the individual investor.
“There is a titanic battle going on in this market that you may not be aware of… Call it the war between the individual investor and the institutional investor. I think it actually might hold the key to where this market’s going.”
READ ALSO: 13 Stocks Recently Discussed By Jim Cramer and 22 Stocks Jim Cramer Recently Talked About.
Cramer cited research from Bank of America’s equity team, specifically a report titled Equity Client Flow Trends, which revealed that the market recently experienced its largest week of equity selling in nearly a year. He noted that despite the major wave of selling, the market moved higher. He emphasized that the explanation lies with retail investors.
“The private clients bought as the market went higher. They’ve been net buyers in 28 of the last 30 weeks. No bear market there. The individual investor has not lost faith.”
Cramer argued that professional money managers appear to be reacting to macroeconomic concerns. He mentioned that institutional outflows suggest skepticism, likely triggered by recent fiscal policies such as the big, beautiful budget bill, which some perceive as inflationary. In contrast, retail investors seem to be undeterred by these concerns. He commented, “The individual is consistent.”
Asking, “So is that stupid?”, Cramer argued that if anyone is missing the bigger picture, it might be the institutions. He described them as “too cynical” and overly focused on short-term risks. He speculated that these managers might be attempting to position themselves ahead of a major market drop, without recognizing that such a downturn may have already happened.
“Let me give you the bottom line: When I first walked down Wall Street… the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at about 1,000. Now it’s at 44,000. Perhaps the weight of evidence says you should just keep buying and just stick with it. It’s been right for decades. Why should the individuals stop now?”
Our Methodology
For this article, we compiled a list of 18 stocks that were discussed by Jim Cramer during the episodes of Mad Money aired on July 8. We listed the stocks in the order that Cramer mentioned them. We also provided hedge fund sentiment for each stock as of the first quarter of 2025, which was taken from Insider Monkey’s database of 1,000 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
18 Stocks That Jim Cramer Shed Light On
18. General Motors Company (NYSE:GM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer shed light on. Discussing the impact of the auto tariffs on the company, Cramer said:
“I believe these auto tariffs are real. They’ll change the landscape even if Japan and Korea start putting in giant orders for natural gas turbines and airplanes… Ford is the biggest winner because its cars and trucks have the most content made in the US, even more than General Motors, although GM’s a winner from these tariffs too…
We can get into the weeds of whether or not this is good policy. I think it’s got plenty of justification, but whether you like it or not, it is the policy. Even if you don’t believe President Trump will follow through on any other tariffs, he’ll definitely follow through with the ones on Japan and Korea, which means the stocks of General Motors and especially Ford are headed higher.”
General Motors (NYSE:GM) designs and sells a wide range of vehicles and parts, while also providing automotive financing, software-based services, and after-sale support like maintenance, repairs, and extended warranties.
17. Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 35
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer shed light on. During the episode, Cramer mentioned the stock and said:
“I believe these auto tariffs are real. They’ll change the landscape even if Japan and Korea start putting in giant orders for natural gas turbines and airplanes… The stock of Whirlpool, which is now being protected via tariffs on steel from the excessive dumping of, yes, Korean and Chinese imports that undercut Whirlpool’s prices significantly. I believe that these competitors will be forced to build more product here if they want a shot at keeping their voluminous market share. Whirlpool stock was hit pretty hard on Liberation Day, made no sense, falling from $90 to $75 one month later. But as investors became fully aware of the ramifications here, Whirlpool was catapulted to $107 and change just over two months later. I think it’s got a lot more room to run. It makes the best, but it’s been undercut forever.”
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) manufactures and sells home appliances such as refrigerators, laundry machines, dishwashers, and small kitchen devices. The company distributes its products through retailers, distributors, builders, and direct-to-consumer channels. During the July 2 episode, Cramer discussed his sentiment around the company, as he said:
“What else? Alright, those who own Whirlpool have been long-time sufferers. One of the stocks I first bought in 1983, it’s pretty much the same price. It’s hurt because it’s the only real American manufacturer in the industry, and all these other countries dumped their appliances on our country. LG and Samsung, by the way, are from Korea, and Haier’s from China, they bought the GE Appliance business. But now they’re facing some big steel tariffs. Suddenly, Whirlpool’s in the driver’s seat. They could be beneficiary of these foreign companies. Wow, it just ran 35 points, though, but it’s still a good story.”
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