Is the “Big Money” Cutting Risk?

Ross Givens
Ross Givens Ross Givens is a veteran trader with over 15 years of experi...
September 15, 2026 | 3 min read
A dramatic aerial view of a massive financial trading floor or city skyline at dusk, with most lights dimming or fading out except for one blazing cluster of bright lights in a specific section, symbolizing selective risk reduction with concentrated conviction. In the foreground or overlay, a single glowing trail or footprint pattern leads toward that illuminated area, representing institutional money leaving trackable traces. The overall mood is dark and high-stakes, with that one beacon of int

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Hey, Ross here:

Hedge funds have spent the past few months taking a LOT of risk off the table.

But when I dug into where they’re actually moving the money…

One part of the market stuck out immediately.

Take a look:

Chart of the Day

is-the-big-money-cutting-risk

This chart shows the three-month change in hedge fund gross leverage.

In plain English, it measures how aggressively funds are cutting the total amount of market exposure they’re carrying.

And this quarter, the drop has been huge.

Gross leverage is down roughly 7–8 percentage points from its recent peak.

That puts this de-leveraging episode in the same neighborhood as some of the biggest risk reductions we’ve seen since 2018.

So hedge funds have clearly gotten more defensive.

But here’s where it gets unusual:

is-the-big-money-cutting-risk

This chart comes from Goldman’s prime brokerage data and tracks hedge fund buying in Technology and Communication Services.

Over the past two weeks, long buying in those sectors has surged to a little over 3% of gross market value.

That’s one of the strongest bursts of buying on this chart going back to 2022.

So at the same time hedge funds are cutting exposure across their books…

They’re aggressively adding money in one specific area.

That tells me something – which I explain in the insight below.

Insight of the Day

The “big money” is telling us what they still want badly enough to keep buying.

When funds are buying everything, it’s hard to tell how much conviction sits behind any one position.

Everybody’s taking risks.

Money is flowing everywhere.

But when those same funds start slashing exposure?

Now their choices get more revealing.

They’re actively deciding what they can live without…

And what they still want badly enough to keep buying.

That’s why the Tech and Communication Services flow above jumped out at me.

If hedge funds are cutting risk across the board but still piling into that part of the market…

I want to know which individual stocks are absorbing that money.

Because a giant fund can’t build a serious position in one shot.

They have to work the order.

And when enough money starts flowing into the same stock over days or weeks…

It leaves tracks.

Tracks we can follow – so we can use their money for our gain.

And in just a few hours later today at 11 a.m. Eastern…

I’m going LIVE to show you exactly how I do it.

I’ll break down the strategy I use to spot institutional footprints…

How I identify stocks where big money appears to be building a position…

And how smaller traders can potentially ride alongside that buying before the move is finished.

It’s the same approach that helped us identify opportunities like NuScale Power before a 146% move in 53 days… Alpine Immune Sciences before 206% in 77 days… and Nikola before 87% in just 24 hours.

Click here to lock in your free seat for today’s LIVE strategy session if you haven’t yet…

And I’ll see you in just a bit at 11 a.m. ET.

P.S. If you’re planning to attend on a mobile device, make sure you download the presentation app now so you don’t miss anything when it starts. See you there.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/goto/id1465614785
Android: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=goto&c=apps

Customer Story of the Day

“Fantastic! Doing well investing with Traders Agency and Ross Givens.

Best decision I have made on this investing journey. Thanks.”

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Ross Givens
Editor, Stock Surge Daily

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Ross Givens

Written by

Ross Givens Chief Market Strategist

Ross Givens is a veteran trader with over 15 years of experience and a former VP at a major Wall Street investment bank. Specializing in small-cap stocks and momentum-driven plays, Ross identifies high-probability setups before they hit the mainstream. As Lead Strategist at Traders Agency, he has guided hundreds of successful trades and developed multiple flagship publications.

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