During the past 10 years, the besthedge funds have consistently
produced market-beating returns, driving huge capital inflows into
the industry and making hedge funds one of the hottestinvestments
on the Street.
Take John Paulson for example. The hedge-fund billionaire became
a legend in 2008, when it was revealed he made billions for himself
and his investors in 2007 after initiating huge short positions in
housingstocks . He followed that up by shorting bank stocks in
2008, producing a 19% return for his investors while the S&P
500 continued to plummet.
David Einhorn has produced equally impressive results. Since
launching Greenlight Capital in 1996, the fellow billionaire
hedge-fund manager has produced an average annual return of 20%,
crushing the S&P 500 and most of his hedge-fund
competitors.
But unfortunately, most investorswill never have access to these
exoticinvestment vehicles.
Hedge funds are extremely exclusive investment instruments,
offered only to accredited investors who have income of more than
$250,000 and anet worth north of $1 million. Hedge funds are also
insanely expensive. They frequently charge investors 2% ofassets
under management (AUM) and take 20% of annual profits, regardless
of whether thefund outperforms the S&P 500. In addition, they
also frequently have lock-in periods, preventing investors from
accessing invested capital for years at a time. So even though the
smartestmoney on the Street has a history of picking good stocks,
access to institutional-class investments also comes with a few
pitfalls.
That's why I am such a big fan of tracking what these hedge
funds own. Trackinginstitutional ownership is like having access to
the smartest hedge funds in the world without having to pay a fee,
give up any profits or participate in restrictive lock-in
policies.
Big institutions such as hedge funds,mutual funds and endowments
have better tools and information that enable them to sniff out big
winners. They also frequently benefit from the momentum they create
after buying huge blocks of stocks.
In the old days, tracking what hedge funds owned was hard to
come by. It was either far too expensive for regular investors to
access this information, or it would be buried in a pile
of paperwork from the U.S. Securities and ExchangeCommission ,
intimidating even the most seasoned forensicaccountant
. But through advancements in technology, this kind of
information is now easily accessed through public channels such as
Reuters or Bloomberg.
And that's exactly how I recently come up a list of the 10
stocks with the highest level of institutional ownership in the
S&P 500...
Top 10 Smart-Money Stocks on S&P 500
Of these 10 stocks, two stand out as my favorites. Here they
are...
1. Gilead Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD)
Market cap : $59 billion
1-year gain: 72.8%
Institutional ownership: 98.94%
This biotechnology company specializes in developing
therapeutics for the treatment of life-threatening diseases such as
HIV and hepatitis B. The company is also massive, with amarket cap
of $59 billion. But that hasn't stopped smart money from loading up
onshares , with a staggering 98.9% institutional
ownership.
This interest from the biggest investors on the Street has
lifted Gilead to an amazing 72.8% gain in the past year and 112% in
the past two. But in spite of these gains, shares still look
undervalued, trading with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E ) ratio
of just 20, well below its 10-year average P/E of 25 and industry
P/E average of 35.
2. Priceline, Inc. (Nasdaq: PCLN)
Market Cap: $32 billion
1-Year Gain: 34%
Institutional ownership: 98.91%
Priceline, an online travel deals specialist, has been another
high flyer, up 34% in the past year and 48% in the last two.
Thisbullish movement has been fueled by strong interest from the
smartest money on the Street, with institutional ownership clocking
in at an impressive 98.8%. But like Gilead, Priceline is anearnings
powerhouse, with analysts projecting full-year earnings of $35.95
per share in 2013.
So in spite of its nominally high share price currently hovering
around $650, Priceline is trading with a price-to-earnings/growth
(PEG ) ratio of just 0.8, safely below thebenchmark of 1 for
value.
Risks to Consider:
Big institutional investors can move stocks higher, but if they
lose interest in a particularstock and rotate into new ideas that
highvolume selling can weigh on shares.
Action to Take -->
These 10 stocks have the highest institutional ownership in the
S&P 500. This means the smartest money on the Street thinks
shares are set to move higher, giving investors an opportunity
tocash in on more bullish movement. But out of the group, Priceline
and Gilead also look undervalued relative to historic levels and
their peers in spite of bullish earnings projections going into
2013. That should provide extra support these two stocks.