GS Ratra Hedge Funds Crowding Monitor US

GS Ratra - Hedge Funds Crowding Monitor US 17 Sep 2026 Tanya Ratra · Goldman Sachs · Associate, FICC & Equities Thu 17 Sep 2026, 2:32pm ET

Hedge funds tilt bullish across cyclicals and analog semis. Below, we highlight the key movements:

• Semi & Semi Equipment (SPLRCSE) long crowding held steady at 0.32 (45th percentile) and short crowding eased from 0.54 to 0.31 (70th percentile). In contrast, Analog Semis (GSCBASMC) long crowding surged from 1.22 to 1.39 (99th percentile) with shorts deeply uncrowded at -0.39 (2nd percentile). The contrast suggests funds are concentrating bullish bets in analog names specifically.

• Bullish rotation in Materials (SPLRCMA) where long crowding rotated into crowded territory, rising from -0.01 to 0.32 (92nd percentile) while short crowding eased from 0.06 to -0.08 (tipping just over the line from crowded to uncrowded) and Metals (GSXUMETL) where long crowding rose to 0.54 (66th percentile) up from 0.39.

• Defense (GSXUDFNS) long crowding increased to 0.16 (98th percentile), while short crowding fell deeper into uncrowded ground from -0.26 to -0.48.

Crowding scores are expressed as z-scores — measuring the number of standard deviations from the mean — and typically range from −2 to +2. A score above 0 indicates crowded positioning, while a score above +1 indicates highly crowded positioning.

Exhibit 1: Crowding Overview: US Sectors and Themes

*Basket constituents and their weights are held constant at the most recent rebalance-date composition for all dates prior to that rebalance; from the rebalance date onward, constituents and weights reflect point-in- time data.

Exhibit 2: Sector Crowding: Long & Short Side