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Report published May 18, 2026

Equity Positioning and Key Levels: Goldman Sachs Market Analysis (May 2026)

Goldman Sachs · May 18, 2026

A comprehensive review of Goldman Sachs' internal positioning data showing heavy equity exposure across CTAs, hedge funds (at record leverage), and corporate buybacks.

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Finvaulta summarizes Goldman Sachs's analysis. Attribute opinions, forecasts, time-sensitive values, and chronology to the issuer and report date; do not treat this page as an independent verification or a current market-data source.

Key Takeaways

  • 1.CTA positioning is significantly long, with $95bn in global equities and $44bn in US equities.
  • 2.GS Prime Brokerage overall book Gross leverage has reached a 5-year high of 318.0%.
  • 3.Corporate buyback windows are wide open, with 96% of S&P 500 companies eligible to trade.

Table of Contents

  • Summary
  • CTA Corner
  • GS Prime Brokerage
  • Buybacks Desk
  • Charts in Focus

Report data

Risk Appetite Indicator (RAI)

MetricEstimateContext
CTA Global Equity Exposure95 billion USD64th percentile
GS PB Gross Leverage318.0%5-year high; 100th percentile 1-year
S&P 500 Corporate Buyback Authorizations24.0 billion USDActive week for new authorizations
Asia Info Tech Gross Allocation10.8%As % of Overall Prime Book
Source: Goldman Sachs; GS Prime Brokerage; GS Corporate Desk. This is a dated model snapshot, not a live forecast.

Reports in this series

Equity Positioning and Key Levels is shown in chronological order through this edition, published on May 20, 2026.

Part of the Equity Positioning and Key Levels series — view all 7 editions

Looking for the latest edition? Eq Positioning and Key Levels (Jun 29, 2026)

  1. Apr 13Eq Positioning and Key Levels
  2. May 11Eq Positioning and Key Levels

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Authors / Editors

Robbie Stankard · Global Banking & MarketsCullen Morgan · Global Banking & Markets

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Goldman SachsPortfolio PositioningSPXEquitiesDerivativesMacro Economic IndicatorsInformation TechnologyFinancialsConsumer DiscretionaryHealth CareAsia PacificEuropeNorth America

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