#profit-taking

#profit-taking

Undoubtedly, AI spending jitters have weighed on Meta Platforms far more than some of the other Mag Seven giants. Given Meta Platforms' willingness to pay up for the best-in-breed AI talent out there, perhaps it's not a shocker that shares would find themselves down by so much in such a short timespan. Lots of hedge funds sold Meta Platforms stock in Q3. Does it matter?

For the most part, the big hedge funds have been mostly net sellers of stocks in recent quarters. And while it may seem ominous to have many smart money managers ringing the register this year, I'd argue that profit-taking and rotating capital into some of the more defensive areas of the market is only smart. Of course, taking a bit of capital off the risk-on AI trade for some cheaper, less-loved names comes with the risk of missing out on additional upside,

Inflows of new money, though strong, are well below the surges of the financial crisis or Covid pandemic, and they're being matched by existing investors choosing to sell at gold's new record highs. With the Dollar gold price last month setting its 7th month-average record in 2025 so far, the number of new account openings on BullionVault beat August 2024 by 77.4%, marking the 4th strongest August in the West London fintech's 2-decade history.

It's not a massive groundswell of people racing for the exits, but a larger proportion than normal are taking profits or protecting capital.