Hedge funds and large money managers usually invest with a focus on the long-term horizon and, therefore, short-lived dips on the charts, usually don’t make them change their opinion towards a company. This time it may be different. During the third quarter we observed increased volatility and small-cap stocks underperformed the market. Hedge fund investor letters indicated that they are cutting their overall exposure, closing out some position and doubling down on others. Let’s take a look at the hedge fund sentiment towards Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VCSH) to find out whether it was one of their high conviction long-term ideas.
Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond ETF was in 4 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of September. VCSH shareholders have witnessed a decrease in enthusiasm from smart money of late. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with VCSH positions at the end of the previous quarter. At the end of this article we will also compare VCSH to other stocks including Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:EEP), CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF), and Discovery Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:DISCK) to get a better sense of its popularity.
To the average investor there are dozens of metrics stock market investors use to analyze their stock investments. Two of the most innovative metrics are hedge fund and insider trading signals. Our experts have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top fund managers can trounce the broader indices by a healthy amount (see the details here).
Now, we’re going to check out the new action regarding Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VCSH).
How are hedge funds trading Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VCSH)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 4 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -33% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Horizon Asset Management, managed by Murray Stahl, holds the biggest position in Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VCSH). Horizon Asset Management has a $14 million position in the stock, comprising 0.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by J. Alan Reid, Jr.’ Forward Management, with a $3.8 million position; the fund has 0.3% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Some other hedge funds and institutional investors with similar optimism consist of Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors.