Top Funds' Activity in Q2 2021

Devon Pendleton of Bloomberg reports Stanley Druckenmiller exits Citi as family offices reveal stock picks:

Stanley Druckenmiller is hedging his bets on the pandemic recovery.

The investor, worth $10.4 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, snapped up stocks last quarter that would get a boost as the U.S. economy emerges from Covid.

His Duquesne Family Office bought Airbnb Inc. and Marriott International Inc., while adding to its holdings of Expedia Group Inc. and Starbucks Corp., according to its latest 13F filing.

The firm also acquired a $91 million position in Netflix Inc. and a $52.3 million stake in vaccine maker Moderna Inc.

In total, the family office disclosed almost $3.5 billion in U.S. equities, down $400 million from the prior period. The largest exit was a $154.6 million position in Citigroup Inc. which Duquesne acquired in the first quarter.

Family offices, which oversee the money and personal affairs of the world’s ultra-rich, don’t typically reveal their investments. The 13F filings though are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission of money managers overseeing more than $100 million in U.S. equities and must be filed within 45 days of the end of each quarter.

That means a handful of the firms disclose a portion of their portfolio, offering insight into the strategies of some of the world’s wealthiest people.

Soros Portfolio

Bluecrest Capital Management, billionaire trader Michael Platt’s firm, disclosed its U.S. equity portfolio shrank by more than $1 billion to about $3 billion. The firm exited 221 stocks, led by China Biologic Products Holdings Inc., and added 104 with the biggest new holding a $105 million stake in 51Job Inc.

The investment firm for George Soros, once Druckenmiller’s boss, exited all the positions it had bought in the selloff following the collapse of Bill Hwang’s family office Archegos Capital Management.

Soros Fund Management sold $194.3 million of ViacomCBS Inc. as well as stakes in Baidu Inc., Vipshop Holdings Ltd., Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Discovery Inc. The firm’s chief investment officer Dawn Fitzpatrick increased its bet on Amazon.com Inc., as it did in the first quarter, and revealed new positions in IHS Markit Ltd. and Proterra Inc.

One of the few international family offices to file is Blue Pool Capital, which manages part of the fortunes of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founders Joe Tsai and Jack Ma. The Hong Kong-based firm disclosed it had almost $1.2 billion in U.S. equities at the end of the quarter, more than doubling from the prior period.

Blue Pool’s largest position was a $748 million stake in Blue Owl Capital, an investment firm created by the merger of Owl Rock Capital and Dyal Capital Partners. Founded in 2004, Blue Pool boosted its bets on tech giants, including Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com and Alphabet Inc., but ditched its stake in Netflix.

Tech Billionaires

Iconiq Capital, which has managed money for high-profile Silicon Valley billionaires such as Sheryl Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg, is one of the largest holders of Blue Owl stock with a $644 million stake.

The San Francisco multifamily office reported that the value of its U.S. equity holdings surged $5.8 billion from the previous quarter, to $14.7 billion. Iconiq increased its biggest position, cloud-computing company Snowflake Inc., with the stake worth $8 billion at the end of the quarter.

David Bonderman’s Wildcat Capital Management disclosed $881 million of U.S. equities at the end of the quarter. Wildcat liquidated its Snowflake position and also exited South Korea’s Coupang Inc.

From all of Druckenmiller's stock picks, I wish I bought shares of Moderna in Q2 (I would have sold them recently for great gains):

 

It's that time of the year again when we get a sneak peek into the portfolios of the world's best money managers with the customary 45-day lag

What did the "money gods" buy and sell last quarter? Well, let me be brutally honest, now is not the time to worry about what Soros, Buffett et al. bought and sold, now is the time to worry about risks

My biggest concern these days is whether inflation is "sticky" or "transitory".

A couple of days ago, I had an interesting conversation with AIMCo's CIO, Dale MacMaster, and he thinks inflation is sticky:

Dale thinks a lot of the inflation we are seeing now is "sticky" and that's something to pay attention to, especially if it starts spilling over into wages. "Climate change is causing droughts which are causing food prices to soar, rents and home prices are going up, higher producer prices and there is more evidence of stickiness in inflation."

I told him that I remain more in the deflation camp but I am tracking strategists like Francois Trahan which I respect and his views are that inflation isn't transitory and it will take a bite out of multiples (the real earnings yield in the S&P 500 is back to mid 1970s levels when we had the worst bear market in history).

On the other hand, I find the market reacts more to any deflationary news coming out of China and the bond market certainly isn't worried about inflation as long bond yields remain near historic low levels.

Dale admitted "with so much negative-yielding debt around the world," Treasuries remain attractive but the Fed "is also buying $80 billion a month which helps keep yields low."

Still, what if there's a more systemic issue keeping long bond yields low? I know most fixed income portfolio managers are short the long end but I am finding it harder and harder to buy the sticky inflation story, especially with the US dollar gaining ground this year (the strength in the greenback will lower US import prices).

In his latest comment, Francois Trahan of Trahan Macro Research focuses on whether housing is the canary in the inflation story:

Inflation in the U.S. is now higher than it has been at any point in time in 30 years. Moreover, the acceleration in inflation seen this year is greater than anything we have witnessed since the 1970s. Yes, the 1970s. The very decade that spawned the word "stagflation". Like most of you, I was not working in the industry back then so I do feel limited in what I can say. Maybe I don't need to say anything at all since the Fed clearly has this one figured out (wink wink). All kidding aside, the Fed has done a great job managing expectations this year as concerns over inflation seem to have taken a backseat to other headlines such as the Delta variant.

It's the lack of the market's concern, however, that should make everyone pay attention. A little digging through the history books reveals that the Fed's emphasis on employment at the expense of inflation this year is not a first. Indeed, it is eerily similar to the Fed's behavior in the late 1960s and this policy is generally recognized as THE mistake that led to the dreaded 1970s. Just to be clear, we are not saying that this is a repeat of the 1970s. That decade is, however, the last time inflation accelerated as much as it has in 2021 and it certainly has lessons to teach us.

Inflation is clearly impacting some segments of the U.S. economy in unexpected ways. Housing, for instance, is showing cracks in the plaster in the face of rapidly rising home prices. This is something everyone should take seriously since housing is an early-cycle industry, a point beautifully covered by Edward Leamer in his 2007 paper "Housing Is The Business Cycle". Some parts of the housing industry are clearly slowing despite low interest rates, an odd development that does raise the question as to just how helpful the traditional playbook will be here. It's all just food for thought.

Institutional investors can read his full report but he refers to this paper by William Poole written in 2005 and states that negative real wages will only put pressure on workers to ask for increases in their compensation. 

Dale MacMaster told me the same thing, he thinks it's only a matter of a time before al this inflation spills over into wages. And if wages start rising, then you will get an ugly bout of inflation and rates will start rising fast.

That's why most fixed income managers are short duration here.

Earlier today, in an email exchange with Pierre-Philippe Ste Marie, Co-CIO of Optimum Asset Management, i asked him if he's short duration and he replied:

Yes, we are a little short duration. My opinion is that even though there will be volatility, inflation should remain on average higher than pre-Covid. I see two natural consequences to this pandemic:

  1.  An increase in economic regeneration, which is Joseph Schumpeter creative destruction. 
  2. An increase in what is most commonly known as financial repression. 

When we have lunch, we could talk about the conclusions we took from the last 4 financial crises.

I look forward to seeing Pierre-Philippe to discuss their research as I think highly of him. 

Now, what happens if inflation turns out to be sticky? Look back at the 1973-74 bear market, one of the worst on record. Unanticipated inflation isn't good for stocks or bonds.

But I'm far from convinced inflation is sticky, paying close attention here to the US dollar and more importantly, the bond market which doesn't seem too concerned about inflation either:

In case you can't read it, this is what Harvinder Kalirai, Chief Fixed Income & Currency Strategist at Alpine Macro posted on Linkedin:

As the Covid-related price shocks reverse, U.S. inflation will not simply revert to 2%, but it could undershoot to the downside. Just remember that today’s inflation figures are getting a boost from last year’s low base effects. But next year’s inflation figures will be calculated off the very high base effects of this year.

U.S. 2-year and 5-year breakevens are at the highest levels in over a decade. In contrast, the 5-year/5-year forward breakeven remains relatively low. Is there an opportunity here for fixed income managers to exploit? For our latest Global Fixed Income & Currency Strategy report, please visit Alpine Macro's website.

Why do I focus so much on macro? Because in this environment, if you don't get the macro right, you will lose your shirt!

Having said this, the stock market is still in beast mode, enjoying plentiful liquidity from the Fed and other central banks, so it might continue climbing the great wall of worry for the remainder of the year.

We shall see, in the meantime, have fun looking at what top funds bought and sold last quarter.

A few days ago, Zero Hedge posted a complete 13-F summary going over what top funds bought and sold in Q2:

For once, the "smart money" was not caught off guard by the resurgent covid pandemic, and as a barrage of 13F filings published today showed, during the second quarter hedge funds loaded up on companies that would benefit from a new wave of the pandemic even before the delta variant began to rapidly spread throughout the U.S.

As Bloomberg summarizes, Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global Management and Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management both increased their stakes in food delivery service DoorDash in the second quarter. Coatue also added to its bet on vaccine maker Moderna, while Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital took a new stake in the biotech company worth more than $900 million. These purchases were a reversal from the first quarter, when many hedge funds cut positions in Work From Home companies like Peloton and Zoom as vaccinations began to ramp up in the U.S. That, in turn, fueled wagers on companies that had been hardest-hit by travel restrictions and remote work.

Tiger and Coatue also increased their stakes in Zoom in the three months through June, their 13F filings revealed. The two funds, along with D1 Capital Partners, were among those that added to positions in Peloton, while Viking Global Investors made a new bet on the exercise equipment company.

13F filings also showed that funds including Soros Fund Management and Temasek snapped up shares of fintech companies. Marqeta was a top new buy for Soros, while Temasek disclosed new positions in SoFi Technologies, Flywire and Payoneer Global. Marqeta and SoFi tumbled last week after reporting disappointing second-quarter results. Temasek also snapped up shares in two new BlackRock carbon transition ETFs (LCTU and LCTD), while Soros took a new position in electric-vehicle producer Proterra, as clean energy continues to be a prominent trend among investors.

Coatue, Viking and Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital Management also added new positions in Beijing-based JD.com Inc. in the quarter, a move that would prove to be rather unfortunate as shares of the giant online vendor have slumped 16% since June 30. Chinese shares have tumbled since June as Beijing banned for-profit tutoring companies and ordered more than two dozen tech firms to carry out internal inspections and address issues such as data security.

Some, such as Soros were either lucky or good in cutting their exposure to Chinese ADRs in the second quarter, ahead of the furious selloff. Soros Fund Management exited many of its investments in Chinese ADRs including Baidu, Vipshop Holdings, Tencent Music Entertainment Group and IQiyi, positions it snapped up during the collapse of Archegos Capital Management in March and April, as noted previously.

Other funds also dumped China-based companies with listings in the U.S. D1 Capital sold its 25-million-share stake in New Oriental Education & Technology Group, while Soroban Capital Partners exited its 2.06-million-share stake in Alibaba. Soroban’s largest new positions favored tech, with the top three additions being Facebook, Twitter and Netflix.

Some other notable 13F findings:

  • Michael Burry, of “The Big Short” fame, owned puts on Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF and increased its Tesla puts (more here).
  • Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway added to just three positions in the quarter and trimmed its holdings in several companies, including a full exit of controversial Alzheimer’s drug developer Biogen. As first noted earlier, Berkshire’s only new position in the quarter, 1.55 million shares of Organon was the result of a spinoff of the women’s health pharmaceutical company from Berkshire holding Merck. Its most significant addition was a 21% increase in its position in grocer Kroger. Besides Biogen, exits included Liberty Global’s Class A shares and Axalta Coating Systems, while Berkshire trimmed positions in Marsh & McLennan, Abbvie, General Motors and Bristol-Myers Squibb.
  • Seth Klarman’s long-standing investment in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire finally came to an end during the second quarter. Baupost Group sold its entire Fox Corp. stake, including 7.6 million Class A shares and 5.7 million Class B shares with a combined market value of $446 million at the end of March.
  • Carl Icahn, who runs a concentrated portfolio with just 17 reportable investments, sold all of his 9.59 million shares of Tenneco in the quarter. He also has a new undisclosed position in an unnamed stock -- an unusual step that requires a separate filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • Dan Loeb's Third Point added SentinelOne Class A to its investments and exited IAA in the second quarter. The fund also added to its holdings in Intel, boosting its stake to 14 million shares from 1 million, while decreasing its stake in Charter Communications Class A. Upstart Holdings was Third Point's biggest holding, representing 9.8% of disclosed assets
  • Elliott Investment Management’s largest purchases of the quarter included a 3-million-share buy of Twitter. The increase in shares comes despite Elliott partner Jesse Cohn’s departure from Twitter’s board on June 9. He originally joined the board as part of a partnership Twitter entered with Elliott and Sliver Lake on March 9, 2020.
  • Singapore state-owned investment fund Temasek Holdings’s largest new purchase in the quarter was a 4.84-million-share position in Airbnb. Airbnb reported strong second-quarter earnings last week that were offset by tepid guidance, according to analysts. Temasek also disclosed new positions in SoFi Technologies, Flywire and Payoneer Global.

Here are some other moves made by prominent funds tracked by Bloomberg:

APPALOOSA

  • Top new buys: UBER, PHM, BODY, TCVA
  • Top exits: CRM, ADBE, DIS, PYPL, IQ, DISCA, BIDU, SHOP
  • Boosted stakes in: MOS, FCX
  • Cut stakes in: PCG, MU, TMUS, AMZN, CHK, BABA, FB, GOOG, HCA, XLE

BAUPOST GROUP

  • Top new buys: SJR, RTPY, 1865300D
  • Top exits: FOXA, FOX, PEAK, FNF, RTP, HIPO
  • Boosted stakes in: FB, MU, QRVO, TBPH
  • Cut stakes in: INTC, WLTW, EBAY, PSTH, SSNC, ADV, AJAX, NXST, DBRG, LBTYK

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY

  • Top exits: AXTA, BIIB, LBTYA
  • Boosted stakes in: KR, RH, AON
  • Cut stakes in: GM, BMY, ABBV, LBTYK, CVX, MMC, USB

CORVEX MANAGEMENT

  • Top new buys: CRM, ZNGA, BOAC, ROVR, TWCT, LGV
  • Top exits: FISV, EXPE, GLD, FE, GPN, RADI, ORGN, TALK, ELMS, NFLX
  • Boosted stakes in: BLMN, AMZN, GOOGL, DIS, MSFT, CCEP, ATUS, EXC, DOMA, FB
  • Cut stakes in: ATVI, TMUS, AJAX, CFAC

D1 CAPITAL PARTNERS

  • Top new buys: PCOR, FTCH, PODD, ALKT, CMG, DLO, DECK, STNE, CRWD, FTV
  • Top exits: HLT, NFLX, EDU, BAX, NKE, PPD, LVS, FIS, BX, BMBL
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, EXPE, CVNA, PTON, BBWI, JD, RH, BLL, BKNG, DIS
  • Cut stakes in: MSFT, TMUS, FB, COUP, DHR, DDOG

DUQUESNE FAMILY OFFICE

  • Top new buys: NFLX, ABNB, MRNA, SMAR, GM, COUP, MAR, FTCH, CF, RBLX
  • Top exits: C, GOLD, MELI, UBER, TSM, LIN, RUN, JPM, AA, ASHR
  • Boosted stakes in: GOOGL, AMZN, CVNA, FB, KBR, MA, V, SBUX, EXPE, OPCH
  • Cut stakes in: MSFT, SE, ON, BLDR, PLTR, FLEX, TMUS, SNOW, TECK, FCX

ELLIOTT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

  • Top new buys: DUK, DBX, HRB
  • Top exits: DISCK, CYH, FB
  • Boosted stakes in: TWTR, ETWO, PINS
  • Cut stakes in: SNAP, HWM

GLENVIEW CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

  • Top new buys: CNC, AMZN, BABA, CCCS, UBER, AMGN, CHNG, OUST, BOWX, LSAQ
  • Top exits: NUAN, LH, MSFT, CAR, LYFT, MAR, PPD, NBSE
  • Boosted stakes in: GPN, CCEP, APTV, WBA, DD, CTVA, DVA, NSC, HOLX, ESI
  • Cut stakes in: CI, TAK, HCA, MCK, DXC, FB, ANTM, BSX, BAX, FISV

GREENLIGHT CAPITAL

  • Top new buys: SPY, PLBY, GPK, NWS, SRNG, EXPE, DMYI, LIVN, UWMC, PANA
  • Top exits: ADT, ALIT, TALK, SEAH
  • Boosted stakes in: TECK, GPRO, ODP, CC, CPRI, JOBY, SATS, ASTS, FUBO, REZI
  • Cut stakes in: DNMR, APG, KPLT, CNX, XOG, CNXC, JACK, SNX, NUVB, CEIX

ICAHN

  • Top exits: HLF, TEN
  • Boosted stakes in: IEP, XRX
  • Cut stakes in: OXY, DK, WBT

JANA PARTNERS

  • Top new buys: CSOD
  • Boosted stakes in: CONE, VG, SPY, EHC
  • Cut stakes in: LH, CAG, THS

LANSDOWNE

  • Top new buys: ILMN, WMG, NVT
  • Top exits: ED, DAR, AES, REGI, CDE, PAAS, USO
  • Boosted stakes in: ETN, FCX, CARR, AER, DAL, IEUR, BLBD, VMC, RBLX, UVXY
  • Cut stakes in: AMAT, TSM, LRCX, MU, RYAAY, GE, ENIA, EGO, ADI, BKNG

MAVERICK CAPITAL

  • Top new buys: CNC, JLL, CANO, FTCH, GPN, BHG, CMAX, ADSK, SE, JWSM
  • Top exits: FIS, PLD, ELAN, LVS, SPFR, MAC, DASH, TJX, ZBRA, HPQ
  • Boosted stakes in: CVNA, ASO, SNOW, V, BABA, EXPE, TMUS, CCK, XP, ATRA
  • Cut stakes in: SEER, AMAT, ALNY, LRCX, AON, AMZN, LPLA, SUM, TGTX, GOOG

MELVIN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

  • Top new buys: JD, DASH, PYPL, DPZ, MSFT, TGT, VMEO, SE, SHOP, DDOG
  • Top exits: NFLX, NUAN, PINS, AAP, NKE, MU, SIG, TPX, TPR, WYNN
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, ATVI, ALGN, LYV, LH, EXPE, SEAS, SNOW, PVH, TXRH
  • Cut stakes in: MA, FB, BBWI, GOOGL, SBUX, UBER, FICO, NTES, HLT, NOW

OMEGA ADVISORS

  • Top new buys: LAD, BHC, VOO, PFSI, EFA, IVW, COG, SCHO, IEUR, EWJ
  • Top exits: MGY, IFF, CMCSA
  • Boosted stakes in: FOA, WSC, VRT, NRG, PXD, ABR, ASH, ASPU, BABA, FLMN
  • Cut stakes in: FOE, NAVI, OCN, TRN, BBDC, FCRD, SRGA, FB, SNR

PERSHING SQUARE

  • Boosted stakes in: DPZ
  • Cut stakes in: LOW, QSR, HLT, A

SOROBAN CAPITAL

  • Top new buys: FB, TWTR, NFLX, WAB, KAHC, LGV, BKI, PLNT, MSDA, TIOA
  • Top exits: BABA, CMCSA, DPZ, RTX, GRA, GWRE, ALIT, SFTW, SPFR
  • Boosted stakes in: LOW, CSX, ADI, UNP, FIS, VYGG, BTNB
  • Cut stakes in: ATUS, SPGI, PAYO, KVSB, ME, SUNL, BGRY, GNAC, DOMA, NSH

SOROS FUND MANAGEMENT

  • Top new buys: FIGS, INFO, PTRA, MQ, PPD, VER, NUAN, MGLN, INDI, ACN
  • Top exits: BIDU, DEN, VIPS, TME, IQ, DISCK, XLE, MU, ASHR, WAL
  • Boosted stakes in: AMZN, MXIM, ELAN, GOOGL, CLVT, DIS, OPEN, W, CRM, SYF
  • Cut stakes in: LQD, QS, VICI, UPST, TXN, LVS, ADI, NXPI, DHI, LPLA

STARBOARD

  • Top new buys: PZZA, WPCB, LEGA, KAHC, SLAM, FRXB, ATMR, ROSS, MACC, ACAH
  • Boosted stakes in: CERN, BOX, IWM, IWR, TWCT, KVSC, DGNU, PRPB, LNFA, ON
  • Cut stakes in: CTVA, IWN, ACM, MAAC, SCOR, NLOK, MMSI, ELAN, CVLT

TEMASEK HOLDINGS

  • Top new buys: ABNB, INTA, FLYW, PAYO, KRE, STEM, LCTU, INTC, SOFI, COPX
  • Top exits: XLF, ADBE, INDA, EWZ, ACIU, PCVX
  • Boosted stakes in: BILL, BEAM, TMO, DELL, EWY, IBN, IAU, CRM, SNOW, AFRM
  • Cut stakes in: WISH, IWM, BABA, MSFT, XLB, CTVA, DASH, RBLX

THIRD POINT

  • Top new buys: S, SOFI, EDR, ZBH, PTON, RTPY, JWSM, ASZ, IACC, AUS
  • Top exits: IAA, RACE, KMX, Z, SHOP, CVNA, ETRN, NYT, WISH, RKT
  • Boosted stakes in: INTC, AMZN, DELL, CANO, EL, UBER, SU, RH, DD, AES
  • Cut stakes in: CHTR, PCG, JD, IQV, DIS, RADI, APTV, BOAC, MTTR, TEL

TIGER GLOBAL

  • Top new buys: PCOR, PATH, COIN, DV, BHG, DLO, APP, S, GRUB, KPLT
  • Top exits: ASO
  • Boosted stakes in: DASH, DOCU, ZM, SHOP, SE, SNOW, CVNA, PTON, YSG, RNG
  • Cut stakes in: CRM, TAL, JD, EDU, RBLX, GDS, UBER, DESP, BABA, RDFN

Source: Bloomberg

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 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 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

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) 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

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 Pan (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, Brian Belski, BMO's chief investment strategist, joins the Halftime Report to discuss today's markets. Returns are increasingly volatile, he tells Scott Wapner, because we're living in an earnings-driven market.

And Richard Saperstein, chief investment officer of HighTower Treasury Partners, joins the Halftime Report to discuss his view of the market. Saperstein charts a path for the markets through the next few months.

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