Top Funds' Activity in Q1 2020

By
Jason Orestes of The Street reports Amazon is clearly what hedge funds are betting on these days:
Amazon has been a major beneficiary of the Covid-19 chaos, and hedge funds have taken notice.

The fastest bear market in history saw a 30% plummet followed by a rapid 30% rebound. But there has been a large bifurcation in this rally. While many stocks remain significantly depressed on the year, tech has flourished. The Nasdaq is actually up year to date, and megacap tech, buoyed by stay-at-home orders and an inexorable trend of work-from-home (WFH) policy becoming the norm, has reaped much of these gains.

Amazon’s 32% return has outpaced all FAANG + Microsoft names save Netflix (39%), but more importantly, Amazon has transmuted its tech designation to that of the ultimate “essential” business. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the fragility of many business models, but it’s managed to do the opposite for Amazon. When something is fragile, it suffers or breaks under stress or change; when something is antifragile, it actually gains from uncertainty and disruption.

Amazon has shown itself to be perhaps the ultimate antifragile business. Already a superior trillion-dollar enterprise during normal times, its delivery and Amazon Web Services businesses (think WFH) will benefit from the new paradigm that coronavirus has ushered in.

It appears hedge funds by and large agree. Amazon is the largest position as of the end of the first quarter for many top funds such as David Tepper’s Appaloosa, Alex Sacerdote’s Whale Rock and Stanley Druckenmiller’s family office. And of all the megacap tech names, it was the only one that saw an increase in shares held across both institutions and hedge funds, per 13F data from WhaleWisdom.

Of 13F-filing hedge funds ($100 million or more in assets under management), Amazon is held by 40% of them, and is a top-10 holding of 21%. This ranks second to only Microsoft, which is held by 43% of them and is a top-10 holding of 25%. However, Amazon's institutional and hedge fund share count holdings increased by 1.82% and 4.73%, respectively, as opposed to Microsoft’s mixed bag (-3.85% and +0.7%, respectively). Netflix was the only other FAANG member to see an increase in holdings across both institutions and hedge funds, albeit much more tepidly so than Amazon, with a +0.23%, and +0.93% increase, respectively.

Apple (-3.69%, +.39%) and Google (-3.45%, +.29%) saw surprisingly high institutional reductions in the first quarter, and Facebook was a wash between the two (-1.07%, +1.2%).

Amazon’s rocketing favorability can also be seen by its weighting increase across hedge funds. The table below shows the top-10 stocks by summed percentage holdings across 13F-filing hedge funds. This is a way to glean insight into the overall conviction hedge funds have across symbols that adjusts for portfolio size. That's because if only a handful of massive funds bought huge positions in Amazon, it would show in the aggregate stats as a major uptick in shares held, but wouldn’t speak to the breadth or weighting of the stock by all funds. Using this method, however, a $10 billion fund with 10% of its assets in Amazon ($1B) is measured the same as a $100 million fund with 10% of its portfolio in it ($10M).


Even by this metric, no one saw as big an uptick as Amazon. Microsoft still holds the total top honor, however, Amazon’s 57% increase in summed portfolio weighting outdistanced all others. At a 42% increase, Microsoft came in second for greater weighting, and somewhat curiously Allergan came in 3rd with a 40% rise. The increase across other FAANG names was muted, and Netflix doesn’t even make the list.

The smart money consensus is clear: Amazon is the ultimate all-weather company.
No doubt about it, Amazon shares (AMZN) have been flying high during this pandemic and some even think Jeff Bezos will become the world's first trillionaire in six years:




What do I think? I think Bezos is already obscenely wealthy and there's no chance he will be the world's first trillionaire in six years, especially if the US government goes after his company to break up its monopoly power (don't laugh, that's the biggest risk Amazon faces and Bezos knows it which is why he is lobbying Washington like crazy).

Anyways, it's that time of the year again  when we get a sneak peek into the portfolios of the world's top funds. What is interesting this time around is we get to see who bought the big coronavirus dip and what they bought and sold last quarter.

Zero Hedge did a good job going over what top funds bought and sold last quarter during the chaos:
  • Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway which as we reported last night slashed its Goldman position by 84% and trimmed its JPM shares as the pandemic started to roil financial markets, before liquidating its entire airline portfolio.
  • Larry Robbins’s Glenview and Zeke Capital Advisors, a money manager for ultra-wealthy families, were among those that drastically cut equity positions according to Bloomberg. Glenview slashed its stock market exposure during the first quarter, disclosing it held U.S.-traded equities with a stock market value of $3.7 billion at March 31, down from $11.4 billion at year end.
  • Tiger Global Management trimmed its stake in alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management for the first time in five quarters, even as Bill Ackman built a $25 million stake in private equity powerhouse Blackstone Group during the quarter
  • Managers were mixed on Facebook in the quarter. D1 Capital piled into the social-media giant, boosting its stake by 70%, and Soroban Capital Partners and Baupost Group started new positions. On the other side of the trade were Coatue Management and Viking Global Investors which both slashed their holdings. Facebook slumped 19% in the first quarter as its advertising business took a hit in the crisis.
  • Aaron Cowen's Suvretta Capital Management acquired shares in several consumer-focused chains. The list includes a $55 million bet on TJX Cos., parent to TJ Maxx discount stores.
Below, courtesy of Bloomberg, is a summary of what some of the most popular hedge funds did during the most turbulent quarter for capital markets since the financial crisis:

ADAGE CAPITAL
  • Top new buys: SO, MNTA, AMTD, SAFM, OSK, GLD, CX, REGN, ATRC, OGE
  • Top exits: MMM, JCI, VST, SWX, SCHW, ECL, USB, SPG, MDU, AMRN
  • Boosted stakes in: HON, LMT, TGT, LLY, ROST, AMZN, TEL, TJX, DG, SRPT
  • Cut stakes in: RTX, BAC, JPM, BURL, T, BA, AAP, BRK/B, MA, UA
BALYASNY ASSET MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: ATVI, LOW, DG, INTC, JPM, CHTR, TTWO, ICE, PFE, TFC
  • Top exits: AIG, PNC, BAC, UNP, ETN, FB, BA, RTX, SPGI, MKL
  • Boosted stakes in: NFLX, BSX, QGEN, JD, AMTD, ABBV, LM, KBR, HAS, LMT
  • Cut stakes in: XOM, LHX, AJG, CRM, AAP, DE, ESS, AXP, ZEN, GS
BAUPOST GROUP
  • Top new buys: GOOG, FB, HDS, ET, XPO, SPR
  • Top exits: BMY, SYF, NUAN, ERI, MDRIQ
  • Boosted stakes in: EBAY, HPQ, MCK, CARS, QRVO, NXST, LBTYK
  • Cut stakes in: LNG, UNVR, PCG, ABC, AKBA
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY
  • Top exits: TRV, PSX
  • Boosted stakes in: PNC, UAL, DAL
  • Cut stakes in: JPM, GS, GM, LUV, AAL, SYF, AXTA, SIRI, SU, VRSN
BRIDGEWATER ASSOCIATES
  • Top new buys: UNH, MCD, LMT, PM, PEP, ACN, SPGI, ABT, HON, FIS
  • Top exits: JPM, BAC, WFC, C, USB, GS, MS, BLK, PNC, ADS
  • Boosted stakes in: HD, SHW, LOW, ZTO, TAL, GDS, PDD, ORLY, WUBA, IQ
  • Cut stakes in: SPY, VWO, IVV, EWZ, IEMG, HYG, EWT, VEA, EFA, IEFA
COATUE MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: JD, TSLA, CRWD, CREE, LRCX, ZM, FIT, CGC, BBBY, DDD
  • Top exits: ATVI, WDAY, EA, XRX, ILMN, CRM, V, PDD, INTU, SCHW
  • Boosted stakes in: NKE, DDOG, NFLX, PTON, MU, AMZN, PYPL, GDOT, GLUU, DT
  • Cut stakes in: NOW, MA, LBRDK, TWTR, ADBE, BABA, FB, RNG, MSFT, SHOP
CORSAIR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: VRT, QQQ, AAPL, CHNG, CC, PSEC, BBCP
  • Top exits: IWM, IWO, MDY, EQH, AER, ALLY, CASH, DSSI, LTHM, SBLK
  • Boosted stakes in: MSFT, SPY, GOOG, SMIT, CUBI, INFO, CHDN, PRSP, IQV, HMHC
  • Cut stakes in: SPXC, KRA, FMC, HGV, LAUR, RHP, PLYA, VOYA, TROX, AON
CORVEX MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: CRM, BABA, ATVI, UNP, VMC, MPC, GLD, NFLX, MTCH, CNC
  • Top exits: FSCT, RTX, TMUS, TWLO
  • Boosted stakes in: ZEN, ATUS, AMZN, MGM
  • Cut stakes in: FANG, MSGS, ADBE
D1 CAPITAL PARTNERS
  • Top new buys: DHR, MSFT, LYV, AZO, MU, PPD, NKE, UNH, USB, BAC
  • Top exits: NOW, ARMK, CHWY, NVST, CRM, EXAS
  • Boosted stakes in: ORLY, DIS, FB, FIS, LVS, JD, HLT, GOOGL, LIN, BABA
  • Cut stakes in: NFLX, AMZN, TME, CCC, RACE
DUQUESNE FAMILY OFFICE
  • Top new buys: PYPL, IQV, QCOM, TAL, EDU, LVS, TME, LK
  • Top exits: IWM, EEM, JPM, HDB, FDX, PNC, WFC, AEM, MPC, SNAP
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, NFLX, BABA, FB, GOOGL, ALNY, JD, FIS, NOW, ADBE
  • Cut stakes in: GE, INDA, MSFT, FCX, HD, SE, ABT, COUP, PLAN, SNE
EMINENCE CAPITAL
  • Top new buys: GLD, VRT, HDS, QSR, CHNG, PANW, MAR, BKNG, DD, SEE
  • Top exits: PGR, EA, TTWO, MNST, PYPL, DPZ, WW, LB, NVST, EQIX
  • Boosted stakes in: MS, AVTR, HAE, RCL, PINS, SHAK, DHI, ABG, UBER, NEWR
  • Cut stakes in: BABA, GDDY, SCHW, NTNX, CI, CF, IQV, RJF, ICE, CNC
ENGAGED CAPITAL
  • Cut stakes in: APOG, NCR, INWK
FIR TREE
  • Top new buys: DELL, CMCSA, DIS, EXC, FLT, SHLL, THCA, GIX, NFIN, PIC
  • Top exits: VER, JNJ, LHX, SATS, RTX, VVNT, PAE, VRT, DKNG, I
  • Boosted stakes in: TMUS, ANTM, TRNE, LCA, SLM
  • Cut stakes in: LAUR, CTXS, BKNG, CNC, CHAP, FPAC, MSFT, OAC
GREENLIGHT CAPITAL
  • Top new buys: CHNG, CCK, CNC, MO, PAYX, AXP, GS, DHR, BRK/B, DIS
  • Top exits: GM, DXC, SGMS, SATS, TPX, CEIX
  • Boosted stakes in: CNX, BHF, AER
  • Cut stakes in: CC, ADNT, ATUS, TGP, XELA
ICAHN
  • Top new buys: DK
  • Boosted stakes in: OXY, WBT, NWL, HTZ, LNG
IMPALA ASSET MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: TGT, SIX, CSX, VMC, AAWW, MA, AMZN, FDX, EXP, FUN
  • Top exits: HES, GD, FCX, CAT, CLR, XOP, HD, WAB, TRN, PII
  • Boosted stakes in: KSU, MSFT, PCAR, KNX, TTWO, KBH, NVR, HOG, UFI, LPX
  • Cut stakes in: RIO, SBLK, QCOM, WYNN
JANA PARTNERS
  • Top new buys: HI, NEWR
  • Top exits: ZBH, WMGI
  • Boosted stakes in: AXTA, JACK, BLMN
  • Cut stakes in: CAG, ELY, SPY, HDS
LAKEWOOD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: MA, HCA, NSP, APO, AGNC, MCD, AMZN, CB, ICE, KFY
  • Top exits: CDK, ON, ATUS, SLV, GLD, MAS, RTX, FDX, KSS, BMCH
  • Boosted stakes in: WRK, GTS, BIDU, DELL, ANTM, CWK, FB, BC
  • Cut stakes in: C, CIT, ALLY, GS, ATH, CMCSA, WH, COF, WUBA, GOOGL
LANSDOWNE
  • Top new buys: NSC, ONEM, DAR, VTIQ, AGI, NKE
  • Top exits: AAL, TXN, GRUB, CVE, CNQ, GS
  • Boosted stakes in: FSLR, ETN, MU, RTX, SMMT, ADI, IQ, REGI, EGO, LRCX
  • Cut stakes in: DAL, UAL, TSM, GE, DHT, TT, BABA
LONG POND
  • Top new buys: RHP, MGM, AVB, VAC, JLL, CPT, CUZ, ESS, MLCO, MAA
  • Top exits: VTR, OC, DIA, LOW, LEN, CONE, PEAK, ALX, CTRE, EPR
  • Boosted stakes in: WH, FR, PEB, AIV, JBGS, KRC, HGV, RRR, HLT, MSGS
  • Cut stakes in: DHI, VNO, H, PGRE, SBRA, HPP
MAGNETAR FINANCIAL
  • Top new buys: WLTW, HPQ, ETFC, MEET, DLPH, BROG, IOTS, DLR, PPD, TERP
  • Top exits: SPY, MPLX, NVS, CCC, SDC, ANTM, MMP
  • Boosted stakes in: QGEN, PFE, WMB, KMI, EPD, BSX, PRGO, ABBV, CHNG, BMY
  • Cut stakes in: CZR, TIF, AMTD, WBC, ET, WMGI, PACB, LH, PAA, UBER
MAVERICK CAPITAL
  • Top new buys: ONEM, AMZN, MNTA, ALKS, BX, GME, DECK, ARMK, WEN, JACK
  • Top exits: WLK, INTC, AGCO, WDC, NKE, TAK, DEO, MKC, KSS, GIS
  • Boosted stakes in: QSR, HUM, MSFT, FB, KKR, FLT, NKTR, FTDR, PEP, ADBE
  • Cut stakes in: MNST, DXC, GOOG, CNC, TMUS, LOW, BABA, ALNY, STNE, NFLX
MELVIN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: AZO, MSFT, DPZ, DRI, JD, LB, EFX, ADI, DECK, WEN
  • Top exits: ATUS, AWI, TEAM, SEAS, SE, BILL, CHWY
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, EXPE, BABA, TTWO, FIS, EDU, FISV, NFLX, IAA, FICO
  • Cut stakes in: WYNN, PLAN, MA, RACE, PUM, ADBE, NOW, DLTR, IQV, LK
OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: TMHC, BIDU, LBTYK, PBR, SRLP, ERI, WMB, BATL, MELI, SQM
  • Top exits: YPF, YETI, HUYA, VRS, FPI, XOG
  • Boosted stakes in: BABA, SMCI, AFYA, TV, INDA, CX, LOMA, VEON, TEO, PAM
  • Cut stakes in: IBN, BRFS, CEO, BCEI, MX
OMEGA ADVISORS
  • Top new buys: JPM, NBR, FB, LEE
  • Top exits: UAL, DD, NRG, UNH, CCL, FANG, HES, DOW, GLD, WFC
  • Boosted stakes in: FOE, COOP, CNC, RTIX, AMCX, STKL, VICI, FLMN, NAVI, OCN
  • Cut stakes in: FISV, GOOGL, C, CIM, ASH, TRN, GTN
SOROBAN CAPITAL
  • Top new buys: AMZN, NOC, MSFT, LHX, FB, QSR, SNE
  • Top exits: MAR, NXPI, HLT, RTX, AXTA
  • Boosted stakes in: CSX
  • Cut stakes in: BABA, NSC, UNP, GOOGL, GRA
SOROS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: AMZN, AAPL, V, TMUS, BKNG, STZ, CDK, LRCX, HDS, IAC
  • Top exits: TSG, BABA, FB, CRM, AMT, PYPL, PANW, AMD, C, FCX
  • Cut stakes in: GLD, GOOGL, ATUS, IBN, CHTR, YNDX, ORCC
SOROS FUND MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: TDG, XLU, MUB, LM, LQD, TMUS, ARMK, TCO, NI, LNT
  • Top exits: MDLZ, ADM, EPC, KDP, JPM, NLY, C, BAC, ALLY, NRG
  • Boosted stakes in: PTON, ATVI, ETFC, ALC, WMGI, DHI, AMTD, EQH, BK, ALL
  • Cut stakes in: LBRDK, VICI, GOOGL, ENR, NLOK, VST, UNH, BGCP, TIF, CZR
STARBOARD
  • Top new buys: CVLT, MMSI, GDOT, ACIW, REZI
  • Top exits: SPY, IWR, MGM
  • Boosted stakes in: BOX, GCP, MD, EBAY
  • Cut stakes in: CERN
TEMASEK HOLDINGS
  • Top new buys: BILL, BEAM, VRT, VMW, FSLY, UBER
  • Top exits: BP, TOT
  • Boosted stakes in: MA, DDOG, HDB, PYPL, TMO, BGNE, V
  • Cut stakes in: BABA, INFO, RDS/B, NIO, UNVR, WORK, STNE, VNET, TOUR, TAL
THIRD POINT
  • Top new buys: DIS, CHTR, ROP, TEL, SERV, SHW
  • Top exits: CPB, BSX, FOXA, FIVE, AMTD, BKI, SCHW, GO, XP, GTT
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, CNC, RACE, SHY
  • Cut stakes in: BAX, RTX, BURL, CRM, IQV, ADBE, DHR, AVTR, FIS, SNE
TIGER GLOBAL
  • Top new buys: ATH, PTON, DNK
  • Top exits: WORK, VXX
  • Boosted stakes in: WDAY, RNG, BABA, DDOG, PLAN, EDU, CRM, ADBE, MA, CVNA
  • Cut stakes in: APO, TDG, UBER, FLT, SPOT, GOOGL, AMZN, ZEN, PYPL, SMAR
TUDOR INVESTMENT
  • Top new buys: GLIBA, PYPL, AAPL, MAA, SBBX, DEI, KO, CERN, SOXX, GL
  • Top exits: IBKC, NNN, USB, LKQ, JCI, TAK, ESS, EXR, EQR, FLT
  • Boosted stakes in: LM, RTX, AMTD, ETFC, MSFT, PJT, EQIX, AMZN, MTCH, TTWO
  • Cut stakes in: SPY, CZR, TIF, EBAY, XLF, MPC, EW, PSX, TIP, STZ
VIKING GLOBAL INVESTORS
  • Top new buys: JPM, AXP, WDAY, CME, MU, ORLY, A, PGR, LVS, CHNG
  • Top exits: MNST, SQ, MET, UNH, ATVI, EQH, TXT, MCK, COUP, MIDD
  • Boosted stakes in: CMCSA, MSFT, FIS, CI, GOOGL, CNC, IR, AON, BSX, NSC
  • Cut stakes in: FB, NOW, ANTM, UBER, ADPT, MELI, CRM, NFLX, MOH, GOOS
WHALE ROCK CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
  • Top new buys: ZM, DOCU, JD, INTC, MU, ZS, LRCX, ATVI, NVDA, AAPL
  • Top exits: MTCH, MRVL, WDAY, SNAP, CRUS, GRMN, MELI, RVLV
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, TSLA, MSFT, CRWD, DDOG, FTNT, BILL, SHOP, FIVN, NOW
  • Cut stakes in: COUP, DIS, FB, STNE, CVNA, CDAY, W, TSM, BABA, MIME
It's funny, I didn't see Twilio (TWLO) on this list and it's the stock that impressed me the most since March, even more than Zoom:


I also read an interesting article on why Elliott Management might be in big trouble. Paul Singer's fund bought the iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corp Bond ETF (LQD), the iShares iBoxx High Yield Corp Bond ETF (HYG) call options, the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) call options, and Tesla PRN and Dropbox put options

Accumulating XLE call options might have impacted Elliott’s return in the second quarter of 2020. In April, WTI crude oil prices turned negative. As a result, the entire energy sector’s stock prices collapsed.

Who knows? I wouldn't bet big against Paul Singer, I'm sure he will bounce back if he underperformed in Q2 (remains to be seen; you can view his top stock holdings here).

Now, before we go further, keep in mind this data is lagged by 45 days and there was a huge bounce from the March 23rd low when Bill Ackman went on CNBC to scare the bejesus out of retail investors (while he and his hedge fund buddies were loading up on stocks).

There really is one chart on my mind these days:



The mighty Nasdaq has been the main beneficiary of the Fed's massive liquidity. Perhaps this is why some retail traders are crushing hedge funds again:









But if I told you there will be 40 million Americans unemployed and tech stocks would be registering record highs, you'd think I'm nuts but that's where we are at.

It's great for Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Mark Zucckerberg, Elon Musk and hedge fund gurus and retail traders playing their stocks, not so good for most Americans who don't own stocks and are now facing immense hardship

This is a liquidity-driven bear market rally, the mother of all bear market rallies and make no mistake, it will come to a bad end:







So, you can follow the gurus and buy more Amazon or you can pay attention to Warren Buffett, Leon Black and other smart investors and wait for all this liquidity-driven silliness to come to an end. 

 And trust me, this party will come to an end:




The young idiots are having fun now but when the full force and fury of the pandemic and the depression hits them, it won't be fun, it will be hell.

My advice? Hunker down and ignore what hedge fund gurus bought and sold last quarter, that big bounce was the easy money, hard times await us.

Anyway, markets are closed due to Memorial Day so have fun looking at the latest quarterly activity of top funds listed below.

The links take you straight to their top holdings and then click on the column head "Change (%)" to see where they increased and decreased their holdings (you have to click once or twice to see).

Top multi-strategy and event driven hedge funds

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) Peak6 Investments

6) Kingdon Capital Management

7) Millennium Management

8) Farallon Capital Management

9) HBK Investments

10) Highbridge Capital Management

11) Highland Capital Management

12) Hudson Bay Capital Management

13) Pentwater Capital Management

14) Sculptor Capital Management (formerly known as Och-Ziff Capital Management)

15) ExodusPoint Capital Management

16) Carlson Capital Management

17) Magnetar Capital

18) Whitebox Advisors

19) QVT Financial 

20) Paloma Partners

21) Weiss Multi-Strategy Advisors

22) 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) Element Capital

12) 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) Numeric Investors now part of 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, 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 Associates

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

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

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) Broadfin Capital

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) RTW Investments

18) Bridger Capital Management

19) Boxer Capital

20) Bridgeway Capital Management

21) Cohen & Steers

22) Cardinal Capital Management

23) Munder Capital Management

24) Diamondhill Capital Management 

25) Cortina Asset Management

26) Geneva Capital Management

27) Criterion Capital Management

28) Daruma Capital Management

29) 12 West Capital Management

30) RA Capital Management

31) Sarissa Capital Management

32) Rock Springs Capital Management

33) Senzar Asset Management

34) Southeastern Asset Management

35) Sphera Funds

36) Tang Capital Management

37) Thomson Horstmann & Bryant

38) Ecor1 Capital

39) Opaleye Management

40) NEA Management Company

41) Great Point Partners

42) Tekla Capital Management

43) 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) RCM Capital Management

16) UBS Asset Management

17) Barclays Global Investor

18) Epoch Investment Partners

19) Thornburg Investment Management

20) Kornitzer Capital Management

21) Batterymarch Financial Management

22) Tocqueville Asset Management

23) Neuberger Berman

24) Winslow Capital Management

25) Herndon Capital Management

26) Artisan Partners

27) Great West Life Insurance Management

28) Lazard Asset Management 

29) Janus Capital Management

30) Franklin Resources

31) Capital Research Global Investors

32) T. Rowe Price

33) First Eagle Investment Management

34) Frontier Capital Management

35) Akre Capital Management

36) Brandywine Global

37) Brown Capital Management

38) Victory Capital Management

39) Orbis

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, and Sovereign Wealth Funds

Last but not least, I the track activity of some pension funds, endowment and sovereign wealth funds. I like to focus on funds that invest in top hedge funds and have internal alpha managers. Below, a sample of pension and endowment 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) British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI)

7) Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments)

8) PGGM Investments

9) APG All Pensions Group

10) California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS)

11) California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS)

12) New York State Common Fund

13) New York State Teachers Retirement System

14) State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System

15) State of Wisconsin Investment Board

16) State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund

17) Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

18) STRS Ohio

19) Teacher Retirement System of Texas

20) Virginia Retirement Systems

21) TIAA CREF investment Management

22) Harvard Management Co.

23) Norges Bank

24) Nordea Investment Management

25) Korea Investment Corp.

26) Singapore Temasek Holdings 

27) Yale Endowment Fund

Below, once more, take the time to listen to Stanley Druckenmiller, Chairman & CEO, Duquesne Family Office LLC, discuss today's market strategies with the moderator Scott Bessent.

If you still want to buy FAANG stocks after watching this, be my guest, just don't come crying to be when stocks head south and make lower lows than in March.

And Invesco’s Kristina Hooper warns the coronavirus is not the biggest threat to the market.

She sees flaring US-China trade tensions potentially doing the most harm to stocks.

“The pandemic has largely been isolated and neutralized because of all the monetary policy support that the Fed has provided,” she told CNBC’s “Trading Nation” on Friday. “That really has decoupled the economy from the stock market.”

Unlike the pandemic, Hooper contends a tariff war resurgence would be a direct hit to the market.

“As we saw in late 2018 and 2019, the tariff war was very, very problematic. It created a big headwind for stocks [and] a bigger headwind than for the overall economy, ” she said. “That could be happening again this time around.”

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