The average (long) position overlap in the hedge fund industry was about 1.1% in the second quarter of 2015, according to a report released Monday by research firm Symmetric. The average over the past 10 years is 1.2%.
Over that time, the average peaked in the third quarter of 2012 at 1.48%, and the low was in the fourth quarter of 2007 (1.01%).
Symmetric calculates the “pairwise overlap between two hedge funds” by isolating the top 10 long positions for each fund and examining overlapping holdings. Industry-wide overlap trends are calculated based on the average overlap among all the possible pairs of fundamentally driven equity long/short funds with relatively lower turnover.
The report also highlights specific funds with unusually high overlap based on June 30 data.
Coatue Management and Whale Rock Capital Management topped the list with five positions in common among their 10 largest long holdings (Apple, Facebook, JD.com, Electronic Arts and Amazon).
Nine other pairs of funds were identified with four of their 10 largest long holdings overlapping as of June 30:
• Glenview Capital and Sivik Global Healthcare;
• Hound Partners and Marble Arch Investments;
• Lone Pine Capital and Tiger Global Management;
• RA Capital Management and RTW Investments;
• Maverick Capital and Suvretta Capital Management;
• Par Capital Management and Altimeter Capital Management;
• Senator Investment Group and Soroban Capital Partners;
• Ratan Capital Management and Paulson & Co.; and
• Redmile Group and Rock Springs Capital Management.
