Core Insights - The second quarter of 2025 saw significant adjustments in institutional holdings in the US stock market, with investors increasing positions in technology, industrials, and communication services while reducing exposure to healthcare, financials, and consumer staples [1][28] - Hedge funds displayed a notable strategy by maintaining a low allocation to technology stocks despite their strong performance, while showing a strong preference for small-cap healthcare stocks [1][11][13] Industry Allocation - Institutional investors increased their holdings in the technology sector by 1.9%, and in industrials and communication services by 0.6% each, while reducing healthcare by 1.3%, and financials and consumer staples by 0.7% each [1] - The divergence in the consumer discretionary sector was highlighted, with hedge funds increasing their positions by 0.6% while the overall market reduced by 0.3% [5] Small-Cap Movements - In the small-cap market, technology and consumer discretionary sectors were favored, with increases of 2.3% and 0.9% respectively, while consumer staples and healthcare saw reductions of 0.9% and 0.8% [7] - Hedge funds showed broader engagement in small-cap stocks, increasing their allocations in small-cap financials and communication services [8] Hedge Fund Holdings - Hedge funds have maintained a long-term low allocation to technology stocks since 2017, despite recent strong performance, indicating caution regarding valuation risks [11][28] - In contrast, small-cap healthcare stocks represented 28% of hedge fund small-cap assets, significantly higher than their 10% weight in the Russell 2000 index [13][15] Geographic Holdings - US domestic funds dominate the S&P 500 index with an 81% share, while funds from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa account for 16%, and Asia-Pacific funds only 3% [15] - There are notable regional differences in sector preferences, with European, Middle Eastern, and African funds having a 2% higher allocation to technology compared to US funds [21] Individual Stock Adjustments - Major technology stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), and Apple (AAPL) were among the top actively increased positions by hedge funds, with gains of 7.4%, 7.1%, and 5.8% respectively [22][28] - Conversely, Fair Isaac (FICO) and Tapestry (TPR) were the most significantly reduced positions, with declines of 6.2% and 4.9% respectively [24] Historical Trends - Historical data indicates a structural change in industry preferences, with long-term over-allocations to industrials and healthcare, and under-allocations to technology and consumer discretionary sectors [25][27] - The low allocation to technology has intensified since 2010, primarily due to the high weight of large tech stocks in indices, while the under-allocation to consumer discretionary has narrowed recently [27]