Top Fund's Activity in Q1 2024
Hedge funds continued to lean into the biggest technology companies leading the way in artificial intelligence as the hype propelled the US stock market higher in the first quarter of the year.
These institutional investors saw Nvidia Corp. exposure grow, with the AI darling having the biggest increase by market value for a single stock in the three months ending March 31 even as hedge funds on net sold shares. They also saw increased exposure in AI leaders Amazon.com Inc, Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp. while trimming positions, according to Bloomberg’s analysis of data from 13F filings. Among individual hedge funds, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. revealed a stake in insurer Chubb Ltd.
Shares of Chubb rose as much as 11% in premarket trading on Thursday, putting the stock on track for its biggest rise since November 2008. Meanwhile, Nvidia shares edged higher, rising 0.5%.
The shift in holdings came as Wall Street fund managers continued to monitor the Federal Reserve’s outlook for interest rate cuts. The S&P 500 rose 10% in the first three months of 2024 and ended the quarter at an all-time high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index gained 8.5% through the end of March.
At the same time, fund managers trimmed holdings of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Snap Inc. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., according to the data.
Bloomberg has so far analyzed 13F filings by 1,124 hedge funds. Their combined holdings amounted to $1.887 trillion, compared with $1.728 trillion held by the same funds three months earlier.
Technology accounted for the biggest weighting in the investor group’s portfolios, at 28%, followed by consumer discretionary at 14%. The value of investments in technology increased the most while real estate rose by the least for any industry.
Tiger Global Management LLC increased its stake in Alphabet Inc. Class A shares. The fund upped its exposure to the broader communications and technology sectors, including increased positions in Amazon.com
Renaissance Technologies LLC exited Exxon Mobil Corp. while adding Chevron Corp. The fund upped its weightings in financial stocks by more than any other industry, while decreasing its weightings in the communications sector.
Two Sigma Advisers LP tacked on Walmart Inc. while upping its weighting in health care stocks, including a boosted stake in Humana Inc. The firm decreased its weighting in the technology sector, with Advanced Micro Devices and Flex Ltd. among technology exits
Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management LLC exited positions in Oracle Corp. as well as Alphabet Inc. Class A. Its biggest holding was JD.com Inc. Class A, which represented 9.5% of its assets.
Berkshire Hathaway slashed its position in Apple Inc. as it cut its overall weighting in technology stocks. Even after the reduction, Apple still represented its largest holding, constituting 41% of assets.
Microsoft was cut or reduced by 252 investors, the biggest such number; Amazon.com was increased or initiated by 232 investors, the biggest tally. Microsoft was the most valuable overall holding at $60.62 billion.
A new push is under way in the US market to make investment firms disclose their equity holdings in a more timely fashion.
The Society for Corporate Governance, NIRI and the NYSE have jointly petitioned the SEC to reduce the deadline for 13F filings, which currently stands at 45 days after the end of each quarter.
13F filings are one of the main ways market participants, from issuers to other investors and academics, understand what buying and selling is taking place within the US stock market.
Critics have long argued, however, that the current disclosure regime means the information is largely out of date by the time it is made public.
The three parties have asked the SEC to initiate a new rule-making process covering 13F filings and say the disclosure deadline should be lowered to ‘no more than five business days’ once the quarter finishes.
Among the arguments put forward by the group is that the SEC has recently modernized other reporting rules, such as shortening the disclosure time for investors holding positions of more than 5 percent from 10 days to five days.
The group adds that technological advances and the speed of today’s market mean it would not be difficult for investors to comply with a more timely disclosure regime.
‘In an environment where US equity markets are about to move to T+1 settlement, and trades are executed in millionths of a second, shareholdings are reported just four times per year, 45 days after the end of each quarter,’ says Matthew Brusch, CEO of NIRI, in a LinkedIn post.
‘IR professionals, corporate governance professionals, public company C-suites and boardrooms: this is your opportunity to support 13F modernization.’
Despite long-standing pressure to shorten the 13F filing deadline, the SEC surprised the market in 2020 by proposing a change that would have removed thousands of investors from needing to reveal their holdings. After widespread opposition, the plan was dropped.
NIRI has called on public companies to submit letters to support the new campaign, and has created a letter template to facilitate the process. Separately, the body is also pushing for congressional legislation that would allow the SEC to switch 13F filings from a quarterly to monthly basis.
I totally agree with NIRI, 13F filings should be done on monthly basis and it's high time Congress and the SEC get on it.
But the SEC isn't really in the mood to do much because this week we saw another "meme stock mini mania" which prompted me to post this on LinkedIn earlier:
The fact remains elite quant funds are busy pumping and dumping these meme stocks as hedge funds effectively cannibalize each other (some are shorting them, others are trying to squeeze them).
It's mind-boggling how this myth of WSB/Roaring Kitty/Robinhood army of retail traders still persists.
Most retail traders got wiped out during the first mania back in 2021, they're finished.
Trust me, I trade biotech shares and can smell, feel and see a classic hedge fund pump and dump from a mile away (literally seen hundreds of them and sometimes they last two or three days but always end up crashing and burning).
Anyway, it seems like the latest meme stock frenzy is fizzling but you never know with these things.
All I can tell you is I'm 1000% sure it's elite hedge funds behind these spectacular moves hiding behind the "Roaring Kitties" of this world and yes, they're even on boards posting nonsense (they probably pay pumpers in India 25 cents a post to pump the stock du jour).
Alright, enough of that, let's get to the latest 13F filings but before we do, you'll notice stocks are still hanging in there but it's a far more selective market.
Next week, hedge funds' favourite beta beast -- Nvidia -- is reporting and it can explode up on good news or crumble on bad news (I wouldn't go long or short, too risky, especially shorting it).
Nvidia's earnings will set the tone next week but keep your eyes peeled on bond yields.
This week the 10-year bond yield closed at 4.42%, a smidge lower than where it opened at 4.47%.
Everything is about bond yields and inflation expectations and as long as they don't head higher, stock sand other risk assets will do fine.
In his latest weekly market wrap-up, Martin Roberge of Canaccord Genuity notes:
Soft-landing celebrations continued this week with the S&P 500 and the S&P/TSX closing at new 52-week highs. The mix of weak US retail sales and industrial production along with a sequential decline in inflation brought Fed cuts back into the picture and sent Treasury yields down ~10bps this week. Obviously, the “bad news is good news” narrative may persist until labour market cracks get wider (more below). Commodities had another good week. Both the nearby future contract on copper (>$5/lb) and gold (>$2,400/oz) closed the week at new all-time highs. After a few difficult sessions, oil prices enjoyed a good rebound to the $80/bbl resistance on the back of larger-than-expected crude inventory draws. Otherwise, recent US$ weakness caused by a net slowing in US growth momentum provides a bid under commodities. The DXY is currently flirting with its 200-dma at 104.3. Conversely, despite crowded bearish views, the CAD/USD has risen for a third week in a row and is now nearing its 200-dma at 73.7. Should this level be broken, it may prompt short-covering activity with the net short futures’ position at ~30% of the open interest. Last, NVDA’s Q1 results next week could set the tone for the rest of the quarter.
Our focus this week is on the US economy in light of another very weak print today from the CB LEI, which dropped 0.6% in April. The decline comes from a deterioration in consumers’ outlook on business conditions, weaker new orders, a negative yield spread, and a drop in new building permits. That said, the CB LEI indicator seems to have lost its predictive power for economic activity in this business cycle. As the first panel of our Chart of the Week shows, not only did the plunge in the indicator in 2022 signal a recession in 2023 that never came but 2024 could see a replay. What to do? Undoubtedly, services play a much bigger role in driving economic activity and the CB LEI does not capture this reality being more sensitive to manufacturing activity. But if we adjust for this factor by dividing the CB LEI by the unemployment rate (UR), we obtain a more accurate forward-looking indicator, in our view. As shown in the third panel of or chart, when the LEI/UR ratio dropped below its 4-yma in 1990, 2001, and 2008, the US economy was about to tip into a recession. The good news today is that the ratio still holds above the recession signal line, but if the downtrend continues in H2, a red flag would be raised. Therefore, we urge investors to stay open-minded about the possibility of a late 2024/early 2025 recession and consider the possibility that 2024 has more to do with late rather than mid-cycle dynamics.
Recession is coming, no doubt about it in my mind, as are some nasty surprises in credit markets.
The only thing keeping the US and Canadian economy which is in worse shape alive is reckless fiscal spending.
And I do mean reckless.
Another smart guy I track closely is Francois Trahan who recently highlighted the rise in credit card and auto loan delinquencies look eerily similar to the GFC:
This chart gives perspective on delinquency trends. The first thing that stands out is that both credit card and auto loan delinquency look eerily like they did in the ramp up to the GFC?! Second, student loan delinquency ... whoa?!? pic.twitter.com/BHVc0XNGKZ
— Francois Trahan, M²SD (@FrancoisTrahan) May 15, 2024
Then again, Jim Bianco made me laugh with this post:
Powell needs to do an emergency rate cut right now! https://t.co/VdV8nZqoEu
— Jim Bianco (@biancoresearch) May 16, 2024
If you ever needed proof that there are really rich idiots, there it is.
Alright let me wrap this up.
Have fun looking into the portfolios of the world's most famous money managers and other top funds.
The links below take you straight to their top holdings and then click to see where they increased and decreased their holdings (see column headings).
Top multi-strategy, event driven hedge funds and large hedge fund managers
As the name implies, these hedge funds invest across a wide variety of
hedge fund strategies like L/S Equity, L/S credit, global macro,
convertible arbitrage, risk arbitrage, volatility arbitrage, merger
arbitrage, distressed debt and statistical pair trading. Below are links
to the holdings of some top multi-strategy hedge funds I track
closely:
1) Appaloosa LP
2) Citadel Advisors
3) Balyasny Asset Management
4) Point72 Asset Management (Steve Cohen)
5) Millennium Management
6) Farallon Capital Management
7) Shonfeld Strategic Partners
10) Peak6 Investments
11) Kingdon Capital Management
12) HBK Investments
13) Highbridge Capital Management
14) Highland Capital Management
15) Hudson Bay Capital Management
16) Pentwater Capital Management
17) Sculptor Capital Management (formerly known as Och-Ziff Capital Management)
18) ExodusPoint Capital Management
19) Carlson Capital Management
20) Magnetar Capital
21) Whitebox Advisors
22) QVT Financial
23) Paloma Partners
24) Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors
25) York Capital Management
Top Global Macro Hedge Funds and Family Offices
These hedge funds gained notoriety because of George Soros, arguably the
best and most famous hedge fund manager. Global macros typically
invest across fixed income, currency, commodity and equity markets.
George Soros, Carl Icahn, Stanley Druckenmiller, Julian Robertson have
converted their hedge funds into family offices to manage their own
money.
1) Soros Fund Management
2) Icahn Associates
3) Duquesne Family Office (Stanley Druckenmiller)
4) Bridgewater Associates
5) Pointstate Capital Partners
6) Caxton Associates (Bruce Kovner)
7) Tudor Investment Corporation (Paul Tudor Jones)
8) Tiger Management (Julian Robertson)
9) Discovery Capital Management (Rob Citrone)
10 Moore Capital Management
11) Rokos Capital Management
12) Element Capital
13) Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust (Michael Larson, the man behind Gates)
Top Quant and Market Neutral Hedge Funds
These funds use sophisticated mathematical algorithms to make their
returns, typically using high-frequency models so they churn their
portfolios often. A few of them have outstanding long-term track records
and many believe quants are taking over the world.
They typically only hire PhDs in mathematics, physics and computer
science to develop their algorithms. Market neutral funds will
engage in pair trading to remove market beta. Some are large asset
managers that specialize in factor investing.
1) Alyeska Investment Group
2) Renaissance Technologies
3) DE Shaw & Co.
4) Two Sigma Investments
5) Cubist Systematic Strategies (a quant division of Point72)
6) Man Group
7) Analytic Investors
8) AQR Capital Management
9) Dimensional Fund Advisors
10) Quantitative Investment Management
11) Oxford Asset Management
12) PDT Partners
13) Angelo Gordon
14) Quantitative Systematic Strategies
15) Quantitative Investment Management
16) Bayesian Capital Management
17) SABA Capital Management
18) Quadrature Capital
19) Simplex Trading
Top Deep Value, Activist, Growth at a Reasonable Price, Event Driven and Distressed Debt Funds
These are among the top long-only funds that everyone tracks. They
include funds run by legendary investors like Warren Buffet, Seth
Klarman, Ron Baron and Ken Fisher. Activist investors like to make
investments in companies where management lacks the proper incentives to
maximize shareholder value. They differ from traditional L/S hedge
funds by having a more concentrated portfolio. Distressed debt funds
typically invest in debt of a company but sometimes take equity
positions.
1) Abrams Capital Management (the one-man wealth machine)
2) Berkshire Hathaway
3) TCI Fund Management
4) Baron Partners Fund (click here to view other Baron funds)
5) BHR Capital
6) Fisher Asset Management
7) Baupost Group
8) Fairfax Financial Holdings
9) Fairholme Capital
10) Gotham Asset Management
11) Fir Tree Partners
12) Elliott Investment Management (Paul Singer)
13) Jana Partners
14) Miller Value Partners (Bill Miller)
15) Highfields Capital Management
16) Eminence Capital
17) Pershing Square Capital Management
18) New Mountain Vantage Advisers
19) Atlantic Investment Management
20) Polaris Capital Management
21) Third Point
22) Marcato Capital Management
23) Glenview Capital Management
24) Apollo Management
25) Avenue Capital
26) Armistice Capital
27) Blue Harbor Group
28) Brigade Capital Management
29) Caspian Capital
30) Kerrisdale Advisers
31) Knighthead Capital Management
32) Relational Investors
33) Roystone Capital Management
34) Scopia Capital Management
35) Schneider Capital Management
36) ValueAct Capital
37) Vulcan Value Partners
38) Okumus Fund Management
39) Eagle Capital Management
40) Sasco Capital
41) Lyrical Asset Management
42) Gabelli Funds
43) Brave Warrior Advisors
44) Matrix Asset Advisors
45) Jet Capital
46) Conatus Capital Management
47) Starboard Value
48) Pzena Investment Management
49) Trian Fund Management
50) Oaktree Capital Management
52) Southeastern Asset Management
Top Long/Short Hedge Funds
These hedge funds go long shares they think will rise in value and short
those they think will fall. Along with global macro funds, they
command the bulk of hedge fund assets. There are many L/S funds but
here is a small sample of some well-known funds.
1) Adage Capital Management
2) Viking Global Investors
3) Greenlight Capital
4) Maverick Capital
5) Pointstate Capital Partners
6) Marathon Asset Management
7) Tiger Global Management (Chase Coleman)
8) Coatue Management
9) D1 Capital Partners
10) Artis Capital Management
11) Fox Point Capital Management
12) Jabre Capital Partners
13) Lone Pine Capital
14) Paulson & Co.
15) Bronson Point Management
16) Hoplite Capital Management
17) LSV Asset Management
18) Hussman Strategic Advisors
19) Cantillon Capital Management
20) Brookside Capital Management
21) Blue Ridge Capital
22) Iridian Asset Management
23) Clough Capital Partners
24) GLG Partners LP
25) Cadence Capital Management
26) Honeycomb Asset Management
27) New Mountain Vantage
28) Penserra Capital Management
29) Eminence Capital
30) Steadfast Capital Management
31) Brookside Capital Management
32) PAR Capital Capital Management
33) Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co
34) Brahman Capital
35) Bridger Management
36) Kensico Capital Management
37) Kynikos Associates
38) Soroban Capital Partners
39) Passport Capital
40) Pennant Capital Management
41) Mason Capital Management
42) Tide Point Capital Management
43) Sirios Capital Management
44) Hayman Capital Management
45) Highside Capital Management
46) Tremblant Capital Group
47) Decade Capital Management
48) Suvretta Capital Management
49) Bloom Tree Partners
50) Cadian Capital Management
51) Matrix Capital Management
52) Senvest Partners
53) Falcon Edge Capital Management
54) Park West Asset Management
55) Melvin Capital Partners (Plotkin shut down Melvin after reeling rom Redditor attack)
56) Owl Creek Asset Management
57) Portolan Capital Management
58) Proxima Capital Management
59) Tourbillon Capital Partners
60) Impala Asset Management
61) Valinor Management
62) Marshall Wace
63) Light Street Capital Management
64) Rock Springs Capital Management
65) Rubric Capital Management
66) Whale Rock Capital
67) Skye Global Management
68) York Capital Management
69) Zweig-Dimenna Associates
Top Sector and Specialized Funds
I like tracking activity funds that specialize in real estate, biotech,
healthcare, retail and other sectors like mid, small and micro caps.
Here are some funds worth tracking closely.
1) Avoro Capital Advisors (formerly Venbio Select Advisors)
2) Baker Brothers Advisors
3) Perceptive Advisors
4) RTW Investments
5) Healthcor Management
6) Orbimed Advisors
7) Deerfield Management
8) BB Biotech AG
9) Birchview Capital
10) Ghost Tree Capital
11) Sectoral Asset Management
12) Oracle Investment Management
13) Palo Alto Investors
14) Consonance Capital Management
15) Camber Capital Management
16) Redmile Group
17) Casdin Capital
18) Bridger Capital Management
19) Boxer Capital
21) Bridgeway Capital Management
22) Cohen & Steers
23) Cardinal Capital Management
24) Munder Capital Management
25) Diamondhill Capital Management
26) Cortina Asset Management
27) Geneva Capital Management
28) Criterion Capital Management
29) Daruma Capital Management
30) 12 West Capital Management
31) RA Capital Management
32) Sarissa Capital Management
33) Rock Springs Capital Management
34) Senzar Asset Management
35) Paradigm Biocapital Advisors
36) Sphera Funds
37) Tang Capital Management
38) Thomson Horstmann & Bryant
39) Ecor1 Capital
40) Opaleye Management
41) NEA Management Company
42) Sofinnova Investments
43) Great Point Partners
44) Tekla Capital Management
45) Van Berkom and Associates
Mutual Funds and Asset Managers
Mutual funds and large asset managers are not hedge funds but their
sheer size makes them important players. Some asset managers have
excellent track records. Below, are a few funds investors track closely.
1) Fidelity
2) BlackRock Inc
3) Wellington Management
4) AQR Capital Management
5) Sands Capital Management
6) Brookfield Asset Management
7) Dodge & Cox
8) Eaton Vance Management
9) Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.
10) Geode Capital Management
11) Goldman Sachs Group
12) JP Morgan Chase & Co.
13) Morgan Stanley
14) Manulife Asset Management
15) UBS Asset Management
16) Barclays Global Investor
17) Epoch Investment Partners
18) Thornburg Investment Management
19) Kornitzer Capital Management
20) Batterymarch Financial Management
21) Tocqueville Asset Management
22) Neuberger Berman
23) Winslow Capital Management
24) Herndon Capital Management
25) Artisan Partners
26) Great West Life Insurance Management
27) Lazard Asset Management
28) Janus Capital Management
29) Franklin Resources
30) Capital Research Global Investors
31) T. Rowe Price
32) First Eagle Investment Management
33) Frontier Capital Management
34) Akre Capital Management
35) Brandywine Global
36) Brown Capital Management
37) Victory Capital Management
38) Orbis Allan Gray
39) Ariel Investments
40) ARK Investment Management
Canadian Asset Managers
Here are a few Canadian funds I track closely:
1) Addenda Capital
2) Letko, Brosseau and Associates
3) Fiera Capital Corporation
4) West Face Capital
5) Hexavest
6) 1832 Asset Management
7) Jarislowsky, Fraser
8) Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management
9) TD Asset Management
10) CIBC Asset Management
11) Beutel, Goodman & Co
12) Greystone Managed Investments
13) Mackenzie Financial Corporation
14) Great West Life Assurance Co
15) Guardian Capital
16) Scotia Capital
17) AGF Investments
18) Montrusco Bolton
19) CI Investments
20) Venator Capital Management
21) Van Berkom and Associates
22) Formula Growth
23) Hillsdale Investment Management
Pension Funds, Endowment Funds, Sovereign Wealth Funds and the Fed's Swiss Surrogate
Last but not least, I the track activity of some pension funds,
endowment, sovereign wealth funds and the Swiss National Bank (aka the Fed's Swiss surrogate). Below, a
sample of the funds I track closely:
1) Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMco)
2) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
3) Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
4) Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
5) OMERS Administration Corp.
6) Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)
7) British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)
8) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)
9) PGGM Investments
10) APG All Pensions Group
11) California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)
12) California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)
13) New York State Common Fund
14) New York State Teachers Retirement System
15) State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System
16) State of Wisconsin Investment Board
17) State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund
18) Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio
19) STRS Ohio
20) Teacher Retirement System of Texas
21) Virginia Retirement Systems
22) TIAA CREF investment Management
23) Harvard Management Co.
24) Norges Bank
25) Nordea Investment Management
26) Korea Investment Corp.
27) Singapore Temasek Holdings
28) Yale Endowment Fund
29) Swiss National Bank (aka, the Fed's Swiss surrogate)
Below, some recent interviews with hedge fund gurus Ken Griffin, Steve Cohen and Stanley Druckenmiller.
Also, a couple of clips of Jim Simons, mathematician, and founder of Renaissance Technologies and philanthropist, who passed away on May 10, 2024, at the age of 86, in New York City.
First, a talk that was held at an event during the 2022 Abel Prize week, where multiple Abel Laureates as well as other high profile mathematicians spoke to young mathematicians.
Lastly,
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