AIG Takes the Top Honors Yet Again

It wasn't too long ago that American International Groupusurped the throne from King of the hedge funds, Apple . Since then, the two stocks have been in a tussle with Google at the top of the mountain, but once again, AIG has come out on top.

More specifically...
Based on Goldman Sach's "50 Stocks Most Loved by Hedge-Fund Managers" list, AIG is actually tied for second with Apple, as both companies are held by 174 hedge funds in total -- and Google blows them away with 192. So why would I say AIG reigned supreme? Because if you take a closer look at hedge funds, a big divide occurs when you focus in on the companies held in the top 10 positions.

This is where AIG shines. Of the 174 funds holding AIG, 69 had the insurer in its top 10 positions as of June 30, a solid 39.7%. On the other hand, Google was a close second, with 65 funds choosing it as a top holding, but the tech giant's percentage looked weaker at 33.9%. Apple came in a full 5% lower in the third-place slot.

Does it even matter?
Hedge funds have been under-performing so far this year, according to Goldman's review. Of the 708 funds monitored by the bank, only 5% have posted results that beat the S&P 500 so far this year. While the index has provided a 20% total return (including dividends), hedge funds have produced only one-fifth of those results.

Despite the under-performance of the hedge funds so far this year, investors could still do well to follow their lead with the top holdings. Hedge funds typically perform better in down markets since they hedge their positions to provide a stabler return, but this strategy can sometimes backfire in long rallies, leading to the performance issues seen this year.

Follow the leader
One money manager in particular has been touting the potential for investors in AIG's stock for quite some time. Bruce Berkowitz's Fairholme Fund has its top position in AIG, with half of its $7.7 billion in the insurer as of June 30. With AIG's continued improvements in performance, business decisions, and capital disbursements, it's clear that Berkowitz's confidence in the company has been proved warranted. AIG's year-to-date return sits at 29.25%, a big win for Berkowitz since his investment in the bank as of Dec. 31 will have netted the fund over $883 million. And that's not counting any increases since then or dividends. Not bad.

If you haven't jumped in with the insurer yet, you've missed out on some solid growth in the company's value, a key to Berkowitz's investment. But fret not, the insurer continues to trade below its second-quarter reported book value of $66.02, so yesterday's close still poses a 40% upside for new investors.

Berkowitz is one of the lesser known money managers to the average investor. But there's one that everyone knows: Warrne Buffet. Though he doesn't invest in AIG, Warren Buffett has made billions through his investing and he wants you to be able to invest like him. Through the years, Buffett has offered up investing tips to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Now you can tap into the best of Warren Buffett's wisdom in a new special report from The Motley Fool. Click here now for a free copy of this invaluable report.

The article AIG Takes the Top Honors Yet Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Jessica Alling has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends American International Group, Apple, and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of American International Group, Apple, and Google and has the following options: long January 2014 $25 calls on American International Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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