Hedge Funds Dump AI Stocks as Retail Investors Buy
Hedge funds net sold global AI stocks for five straight sessions while retail investors poured record billions into levered semiconductor ETFs.
Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management reported that hedge funds net sold global AI stocks for five consecutive sessions ending October 14. This selling streak reversed all cumulative net buying in the AI sector that had occurred since the beginning of 2025.
While institutional investors exited, retail investors moved in the opposite direction, pouring nearly $10 billion into levered ETFs. This represents the largest weekly inflow recorded in the Goldman Sachs dataset.
Retail activity focused heavily on semiconductors, with a record $7 billion invested into the SOXL triple-levered semiconductor ETF. This surge in retail buying occurred simultaneously with the longest losing streak for semiconductor stocks since 2006.
