Follow the Money — Not the Headlines
Every quarter, hedge funds and institutional investors must file 13F reports disclosing their holdings. These filings lag by 45 days, but they reveal the long-term positioning of the world's smartest money. Here's what the big players are doing.
JPMorgan Asset Management
AUM: $3.2T
Adding: NVDA (increased 15%), XOM (increased 22%), LMT (new position), GLD (doubled position)
Trimming: TSLA (reduced 8%), META (reduced 5%), regional banks
Reading: JPM is positioning for the Iran crisis + AI continuation. More defense, more energy, more gold. Reducing high-beta tech.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management
AUM: $2.8T
Adding: AAPL (increased 12%), MSFT (increased 8%), PLTR (new position), TLT (bonds — big increase)
Trimming: AMZN (reduced 10%), crypto-related stocks
Reading: GS is getting defensive. Adding bonds (rate cuts coming). Adding PLTR signals belief in government AI spending. Trimming Amazon suggests concern about consumer spending.
Bridgewater Associates (Dalio)
AUM: $168B
Adding: GLD (massive increase), international stocks (emerging markets), TIPS (inflation-protected bonds), commodity ETFs
Trimming: US stocks broadly, growth tech
Reading: Dalio is preparing for stagflation — the combination of slow growth + inflation. Gold + commodities + TIPS = the Dalio playbook for this environment.
Berkshire Hathaway (Buffett)
AUM: $900B+
Adding: OXY (continued accumulation), Japanese trading houses (Mitsubishi, Mitsui), cash/T-Bills ($200B+ cash pile)
Trimming: AAPL (reduced from 50% to 28% of portfolio), BAC (sold $10B+)
Reading: Buffett is the most defensive he's been since 2008. $200B in cash means he's waiting for a crash to buy. Selling AAPL and BAC after decades = he sees risk ahead.
Citadel (Ken Griffin)
AUM: $63B
Adding: NVDA options (massive call positions), energy futures, volatility products (VIX calls)
Trimming: SPY puts (closed bearish bets), retail stocks
Reading: Citadel is long AI + long volatility. They're betting on continued AI growth but hedging with volatility products in case Iran escalates.
How to Use This Information
- Don't blindly copy — 13F filings are 45 days old. Positions may have changed.
- Look for consensus — When JPM, GS, and Bridgewater all add gold, pay attention.
- Watch what Buffett sells — Buffett holding $200B in cash is the loudest warning on Wall Street.
- Use AI to track — WhaleWisdom, Dataroma, and 13F filing aggregators show institutional moves in real-time.
The Consensus Trade
Smart money consensus for 2026: Long AI (NVDA, PLTR), long energy (XOM, OXY), long gold (GLD), long defense (LMT, RTX), short consumer discretionary, and building cash for a potential buying opportunity if Iran/recession creates a crash.
