Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (ACWI) Anymore

Seeing as iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI) has faced a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, we can see that there exists a select few money managers that decided to sell off their entire stakes last quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments dropped the largest stake of the 700 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, totaling close to $3 million in stock. Louis Navellier’s fund, Navellier & Associates, also said goodbye to its stock, about $0.5 million worth of shares. These transactions are important to note, as total hedge fund interest fell by 3 funds last quarter.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI). These stocks are Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG), Columbia Pipeline Group Inc (NYSE:CPGX), Lamar Advertising Co (NASDAQ:LAMR), and A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS). This group of stocks’ market valuations resemble iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI)’s market valuation.

As you can see, these stocks had an average of 22 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $310 million. That figure was $83 million in iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI)’s case. A. O. Smith Corporation (NYSE:AOS) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand, Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG) is the least popular one with only 7 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks, iShares MSCI ACWI Index Fund (NASDAQ:ACWI) is even less popular than Regency Centers Corp (NYSE:REG). Considering that hedge funds aren’t fond of this stock in relation to other companies analyzed in this article, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and understand why the smart money isn’t behind this stock. This isn’t necessarily bad news. Although it is possible that hedge funds may think the stock is overpriced and view the stock as a short candidate, they may not be very familiar with the bullish thesis. In either case, more research is warranted.