(CNBC) Hedge funds have jacked up their bets on the stock market to their highest levels of 2016 and cut back on short positions to a three-year low amid a blistering post-election rally.
For the fourth quarter, the $3 trillion industry increased its net exposure — the difference between short and long positions — to 63 percent, a level that equates to a net $656 billion, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data. Hedge funds were last this optimistic in the fourth quarter of 2015.
