Goldman Sachs significantly increased its holdings in tech giants such as Microsoft and Apple in Q2, with investments in Bitcoin ETF exceeding $400 million

According to the disclosure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained by Zhitong Finance APP, Goldman Sachs (GS.US) submitted its second-quarter holdings report (13F) as of June 30, 2024.

The total market value of Goldman Sachs' holdings in the second quarter was $590 billion, compared to $560 billion in the previous quarter. In the second quarter's portfolio, Goldman Sachs added 583 stocks and increased holdings in 2792 stocks; at the same time, it cleared out 481 stocks and reduced holdings in 1896 stocks. The top ten holdings accounted for 20.63% of the total market value.

Among the top five major holdings, Microsoft (MSFT.US) ranked first with approximately 43.5773 million shares, a holding market value of about $19.477 billion, accounting for 3.29% of the investment portfolio, an increase of 7.16% from the previous quarter;

Apple (AAPL.US) ranked second with approximately 90.5748 million shares, a holding market value of about $19.077 billion, accounting for 3.23% of the investment portfolio, an increase of 19.03% from the previous quarter;

S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY.US) ranked third with approximately 34.4406 million shares, a holding market value of about $18.743 billion, accounting for 3.17% of the investment portfolio, a decrease of 6.04% from the previous quarter;

Nvidia (NVDA.US) ranked fourth with approximately 151 million shares, a holding market value of about $18.616 billion, accounting for 3.15% of the investment portfolio, an increase of 8.33% from the previous quarter;

Amazon (AMZN.US) ranked fifth with approximately 53.2906 million shares, a holding market value of about $10.298 billion, accounting for 1.63% of the investment portfolio, a decrease of 4.28% from the previous quarter.

In terms of changes in holding proportions, the top five purchases were: Nvidia (NVDA.US), Apple (AAPL.US), Nvidia put options (NVDA.US, PUT), Google (GOOGL.US), Broadcom (AVGO.US).

The top five sales were: iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF call options (IWM.US, CALL), S&P 500 Index ETF call options (SPY.US, CALL), iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF call options (IWM.US, CALL), iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond put options (HYG.US, PUT), Nasdaq 100 ETF put options (QQQ.US, PUT)

It is worth mentioning that in the latest 13F filing by Goldman Sachs, the company disclosed significant investments in Bitcoin spot ETFs in the second quarter. The total value of these investments exceeded $410 million, with iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.US) holding the largest share at a market value of $238.6 million. This was followed by Fidelity's Bitcoin ETF (FETC.US) at $79.5 million, Invesco Galaxy's BTC ETF (BTCO.US) at $56.1 million, and Grayscale's GBTC at $35.1 million. In addition, Goldman Sachs also holds smaller stakes in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB.US), WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW.US), and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB.US), among others.

Mathew McDermott, the global head of Goldman Sachs' digital assets division, emphasized the significant success of Bitcoin ETFs and pointed out that institutions like Goldman Sachs see their potential in improving the efficiency of the financial system. His remarks reflect that while Goldman Sachs has been skeptical of cryptocurrencies in the past, it is now recognizing their importance and potential in the financial sector.

Just a few months ago, Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, the Chief Investment Officer of Goldman Sachs' wealth management division, publicly stated that she did not consider cryptocurrencies as investment assets and explicitly stated that Goldman Sachs was not a supporter of cryptocurrencies. However, with the market's development and the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies, Goldman Sachs seems to have started adjusting its stance and exploring the potential of this emerging asset class