A stampede you can front run

You may think that institutional money managers run in herds, but that is not necessarily true. Different managers have different mandates that color their views. As well, their geographical base can also create differences in opinions in how their view their world and markets. I analyze institutional sentiment by segmenting them into four distinct groups, each with their own data sources:

• US institutions, whose sentiment can be measured by Barron’s semi-annual Big Money Poll
• Foreign and global institutions, as measured by the BAML Fund Manager Survey (FMS), which is conducted on a monthly basis;
• RIAs, as measured by the NAAIM survey, conducted weekly; and
• Hedge funds, as measured by option data and the CFTC futures Commitment of Traders data, though hedge funds are partly represented in the BAML FMS sample, and other sources.

While "institutions" do not always agree, current conditions are pointing an unusual consensus of opinion, and traders can profit by front running the institutional stampede.

The full post can be found here.