Top 4 Mutual Fund Holders of Bank of America

Bank of America Corporation (BAC) is the second-largest bank in the United States, behind JPMorgan Chase (JPM) but ahead of Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and U.S. Bancorp (USB).

For fiscal year 20201, Bank of America held $3.2 trillion in assets. It reported $89.1 billion in revenue net of interest expenses and had a market capitalization of $359 billion at the end of 2021.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSAX)

Vanguard index funds are designed to provide exposure to the entire U.S. equity market, including small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap companies, be they growth or value. The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares (VTSAX), is the single largest mutual fund holder of Bank of America, owning 219.4 million shares or 2.54% of the company and 0.56% of the fund's portfolio.

As of Q1 2021, the Vanguard Total Stock Market fund held $240.4  billion in assets, with a 0.04% management fee and a $3,000 minimum investment. VTSMX returned 17.47% annually in the five years through April 2021, compared with 17.40% for its benchmark, the CRSP US Total Market Index.

The Vanguard S&P 500 Fund (VFIAX)

The Vanguard S&P 500 Fund (VFINX) closely tracks the S&P 500 Index, and it is the second-largest mutual fund holder with 152.5 million shares of BAC, or 1.77% of the company—as of the third quarter of 2020. VFIAX is the industry's first index fund for individual investors. Over 98% of its assets are invested in U.S. stocks covering a diversified spectrum of the largest U.S. companies, mirroring the S&P 500. Bank of America shares represent less than 1% of Vanguard 500's $221 billion portfolio.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)

This popular ETF offers exposure to large-cap U.S. stocks with the goal of generating returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Index. As of Q1 2021, the fund held $357.3 billion in assets. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.095%. It returned 17.03% annually in the five years through April 2021.

As of Q1, 2021, SPY held 78.8 million BAC shares for a market value of $3 billion. Bank of America represented 0.68% of the fund's total assets.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF)

XLF offers efficient exposure to the heavyweights in the US financials segment. Its cap-weighted, S&P 500-only portfolio means that it’s concentrated in large banks and avoids small-caps. For many investors and traders, XLF has been the go-to ETF for financials exposure, though there are more comprehensive funds out there for long-term exposure.

As of Q1 2021, XLF held 76.5 million shares of BAC, making it the fourth-largest fundholder.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

Who cares which stocks mutual funds buy? When you are considering whether to buy (or sell) a stock, it's interesting to see where mutual funds are putting their money.

And it's always interesting to find out where Warren Buffett is putting his money. In this case, he's put enough money in Bank of America that Berkshire Hathaway essentially bought the bank.