Fresh data from broker and bank positioning trackers point to a build-up of risk appetite across US equities. Margin debt, a proxy for leveraged bets, has climbed in recent weeks, roughly matching the expansion in overall market capitalisation, indicating that investors are comfortable taking on additional risk. Active investment managers now hold equity exposures above their historical average, while hedge funds have been adding to the Momentum factor, according to research circulated by TS Lombard. Commodity-trading advisers are also close to their maximum permissible long positions, Deutsche Bank estimates. Some caution is emerging on the fringes. JP Morgan notes that hedge funds have pared back gross leverage from previously elevated levels, a move that could make short squeezes less likely. Deutsche Bank says overall equity positioning slipped modestly last week but, at the 52nd percentile, remains firmly tilted toward risk.