Institutional investors slightly reduced exposure to key market segments including semiconductors, AI infrastructure and megacap technology companies in the second quarter, according to an analysis of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings, with limited large moves in either direction.
A Reuters review of quarterly 13F filings from 6,371 pension funds, hedge funds, wealth managers and other institutional investors found a narrow gap between those increasing and those reducing positions. In many cases the balance tilted slightly toward reductions.
Nearly 44 percent of the filers reviewed trimmed holdings in the Magnificent Seven group of megacap tech firms, such as Microsoft and Meta Platforms, while 42 percent initiated or expanded positions in the group. The remaining filers reported no change. These stocks have contributed to gains in the broader market during the recent bull run. The filings cover the period ended June 30 and reflect data available as of early Friday afternoon on the SEC website.
Investors are not required to explain position changes. Some market participants suggested the figures may reflect the degree to which many institutions already hold substantial stakes rather than a shift in fundamental views.
"When buys and sells are that closely matched, to us it signals the absence of consensus," said Shaia Hosseinzadeh, founder of OnyxPoint Global Management. He noted agreement on the scale of AI spending but disagreement over which companies will ultimately benefit.
Steve Sosnick, market strategist at Interactive Brokers, said some large firms may already hold as much as their risk parameters allow. "That also would explain why some companies that have reported good earnings have still seen their stocks sell off afterwards," he said. "The big holders who might normally have been buyers on good news just couldn't add more to their positions."
Semiconductor stocks retained a bullish tilt, with 48 percent of funds that had filed by early afternoon acting as net buyers and 34.5 percent as net sellers. A group of 20 major software companies, including Adobe and Datadog, showed 28.2 percent of institutional investors as net sellers and 26.3 percent as net buyers.
Tiger Global Management reduced holdings in several Magnificent Seven companies, including Microsoft, Nvidia and Meta, and cut its Alphabet position by 45.4 percent to 5.8 million shares. The fund also reduced exposure to Taiwan Semiconductor, as did SoftBank Group, while increasing its Intel stake.
Institutions showed a preference for building positions in AI-themed stocks, with 36 percent of those that filed disclosing net purchases of companies such as CoreWeave, Arista Networks and Broadcom. Bruno Schneller of Erlen Capital Management said AI-related stocks shifted during the quarter from a fundamental growth story into a highly leveraged momentum trade. The subsequent July selloff, he added, reflected a crowded-trade unwind rather than rejection of the longer-term AI thesis.
Despite higher crude oil prices in the second quarter, institutions showed limited interest in energy, with 40.3 percent reporting as net sellers of a group of a dozen major firms and 28 percent as net buyers. OnyxPoint established new positions in BP, Devon Energy and Fervo Energy, and initiated a stake in Keel Infrastructure. Overall interest in data centers was balanced, with net buyers and sellers each at 24.3 percent of filers.
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August 15, 2026
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