Hedge Funds Aren’t Crazy About Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Anymore

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) investors should pay attention to a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late.

In today’s marketplace, there are dozens of gauges investors can use to watch stocks. Two of the most useful are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outclass the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).

Just as integral, optimistic insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are many motivations for a corporate insider to cut shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would initiate a purchase. Plenty of empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand where to look (learn more here).

Consequently, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action regarding Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP).

How are hedge funds trading Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)?

Heading into 2013, a total of 20 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -9% from one quarter earlier. With hedge funds’ capital changing hands, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings significantly.

Of the funds we track, Steven Richman’s East Side Capital (RR Partners) had the biggest position in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP), worth close to $132 million, comprising 7.4% of its total 13F portfolio. On East Side Capital (RR Partners)’s heels is Cliff Asness of AQR Capital Management, with a $95 million position; 7.4% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other hedge funds that hold long positions include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital.

Due to the fact that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) has experienced falling interest from the smart money, logic holds that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that slashed their entire stakes heading into 2013. Interestingly, John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors dumped the biggest position of all the hedgies we track, totaling close to $2 million in stock.. David Costen Haley’s fund, HBK Investments, also said goodbye to its stock, about $2 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest fell by 2 funds heading into 2013.

How are insiders trading Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the latest six-month time frame, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 12 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

With the returns demonstrated by our research, everyday investors should always watch hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) is no exception.

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