Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Clarium Capital Management http://www.straightstocks.com Leading Stock Market News, Opinions and Commentary Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:20:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Paulson Co 13F Holdings Analysis | Q3 2008 http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/paulson-co-13f-holdings-analysis-q3-2008/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/paulson-co-13f-holdings-analysis-q3-2008/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:40:13 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-8294258196093441604 http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/paulson-co-13f-holdings-analysis-q3-2008/feed/ 0 Viking Global Investors LP Q3 2008 13F Holdings Performance http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/viking-global-investors-lp-q3-2008-13f-holdings-performance/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/viking-global-investors-lp-q3-2008-13f-holdings-performance/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:20:09 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-6823039732530954326 http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/viking-global-investors-lp-q3-2008-13f-holdings-performance/feed/ 0 Hedge Fund Industry Pulse Check http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/hedge-fund-industry-pulse-check/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/hedge-fund-industry-pulse-check/#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:07:23 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-1206726643907504888 Industry Pulse

Hedge Fund Industry Pulse Check


(http://HedgeFundBlogger.com) I was on the phone yesterday with a hedge fund investor who said he simply could not keep up with all of the news coming out on hedge funds without spending his whole work day tracking it. He wanted to know what to receive a series of updates within a single post.

Here is a collection of quotes on the current state of the hedge fund industry:

- Hedge-fund manager David Tepper entered the third quarter with $3.1 billion of U.S. stocks and exited with $648 million, selling most holdings to reduce risk and raise cash as carnage spread across the financial markets. “We moved a lot out early because we didn’t want to lose money,” said Tepper, 51, president of Appaloosa Management LP in Chatham, New Jersey. The firm, which switched some money to bonds, has between 30 percent and 40 percent of assets in cash.

- Regulatory filings last week by 38 hedge funds with more than $1 billion in assets each show that selling and market declines cut the value of their reported holdings by about 30 percent to $273 billion.

- At least 75 funds have liquidated or halted redemptions this year. With the Nov. 15 deadline for year-end withdrawal requests now past, fund managers may be forced to unload more stocks to pay off clients.

- Atticus Capital LP, based in New York, said its holdings declined to $510 million from $8.1 billion. In an Oct. 1 letter to investors, David Slager, 36, who manages the Atticus European Fund, told investors that more than 50 percent of his fund was in cash or U.S. Treasuries after he lost 43.5 percent year-to-date.

- At Tudor Investment Corp., the Greenwich, Connecticut, hedge-fund group founded by Paul Tudor Jones, 13F holdings fell to $453 million from $5.7 billion. Jones said markets face more selling from managers. “Our concern now is less over year-end fund redemptions, as record cash balances have already been raised in anticipation, but with prospective fund closures,” Jones, 54, said in an Oct. 31 report to his clients. “This latter event represents a tipping point at which a fund’s call on the market for liquidity goes non-linear.”

- SAC Capital Advisors, LLC of Stamford, Connecticut, said its holdings were $7.7 billion as of Sept. 30, down from $14.4 billion at June 30. Founder Steven Cohen, 52, had about half the firm’s assets in cash in mid-October, after his main fund fell 5 percent through September.

- Louis Bacon’s Moore Capital Management, LLC said the value of its 13F securities fell 69 percent to $1.4 billion, while at Jana Partners LLC, a firm overseen by Barry Rosenstein that makes activist investments, they fell to $2.1 billion from $5.9 billion.

- Jeffrey Vinik, who once ran the Fidelity Magellan Fund, disclosed that his Boston-based Vinik Asset Management LP held $1.8 billion at Sept. 30, down from $11.8 billion at June 30.

- “Movements in financial markets were so volatile, so unpredictable and so seemingly detached from fundamentals” that many hedge-fund managers “didn’t feel they had an edge,” said Doug Peta, an independent market strategist in New York. “The best thing they could do for their investors was to pull back entirely until markets returned to more of a sense of normalcy.”

- The largest funds, including those run by David Shaw, Kenneth Griffin and James Simons, reported smaller declines in their holdings. At Griffin’s Chicago-based Citadel Investment Group LLC, holdings listed on Citadel LP’s 13F fell 11 percent to $50.4 billion. Simons’s Renaissance Technologies LLC of East Setauket, New York, reported a 17 percent decline to $37.8 billion. At New York-based DE Shaw & Co., the filing showed a 20 percent decrease to $45.4 billion. Source

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/hedge-fund-industry-pulse-check/feed/ 0 Sky Investments | Hedge Fund Tracker Notes http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/sky-investments-hedge-fund-tracker-notes/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/sky-investments-hedge-fund-tracker-notes/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:28:18 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-438701014992306272 Sky Investments

Sky Investments | Hedge Fund Notes

Our team is still building this specific set of Hedge Fund Tracker Notes, for completed manager profiles please see our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/sky-investments-hedge-fund-tracker-notes/feed/ 0 The Hedge Fund Connection | Mark Cuban http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/the-hedge-fund-connection-mark-cuban/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/the-hedge-fund-connection-mark-cuban/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:36:51 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-3351360062850226225 Hedge Fund Connection

The Hedge Fund Connection | Why They Work


Mark Cuban recently published a post on what is currently wrong with how hedge funds operate. In short he believes that hedge funds are not setup to benefit investors because they are paid on an annual basis where as investors are looking for long term 3, 5 and 7 year returns. to read his full post please click here.

Here is a quote from the article: "Those who give money to hedge funds rarely if ever have a 1 year investment term. In fact, the contracts for investment do everything possible to lock up your money for as long as possible. vs. Hedge Fund Managers pay themselves on an annual basis.

That is a huge disconnect and there in lies the rub. While it is true that the managers are paid on a performance basis (plus their 2pct of assets) and some even have clawback provisions, that is not enough. If a fund can get big enough, all they have to do is max out in a single year and the managers are set for life. They put hundreds of millions of dollars EACH in their pocket."

I disagree with his assessment on many levels. Here is why:

Hedge Funds align their interests with investors more closely than mutual funds and corporations. Hedge funds earn their large profits by taking a percentage of the profits generated for their investors. Why aren't CEOs, mutual fund managers and ETF managers compensated in this way? Why don't corporate CEOs have high water marks written into their compensation plans? I think that hedge funds are the answer to the broad misalignment of interests in the marketplace, not the problem.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/the-hedge-fund-connection-mark-cuban/feed/ 0 Childrens Investment Fund | Hedge Fund Notes Updated http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/childrens-investment-fund-hedge-fund-notes-updated/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/childrens-investment-fund-hedge-fund-notes-updated/#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 16:26:00 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-6456694035426206930 Childrens Investment Fund

Childrens Investment Fund | Hedge Fund Notes


Just a quick note to let you know we have updated the Hedge Fund Tracker profile for the Children's Investment Fund.

To view the update please see the profile created for this group here: Children's Investment Fund Management TCI



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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/childrens-investment-fund-hedge-fund-notes-updated/feed/ 0 Citadel Group Hedge Fund Update http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/citadel-group-hedge-fund-update/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/citadel-group-hedge-fund-update/#comments Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:00:58 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-5150161339562871209 Citadel Group

Citadel Investment Group, Inc. | Update

Just a quick note that we have just updated Citadel Investment Group's Hedge Fund Tracker Tool profile with two additional updates

View the updated profile now by clicking on this link: Citadel Investment Group LLC.

Additional Reading Related to Kenneth Griffin's Citadel Group:

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/citadel-group-hedge-fund-update/feed/ 0 Citadel Investment Group | Hedge Fund Notes Updated http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/citadel-investment-group-hedge-fund-notes-updated/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/citadel-investment-group-hedge-fund-notes-updated/#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2008 05:42:51 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-5942155939390396096 Citadel Investment Group

Citadel Investment Group | Hedge Fund Notes


Just a quick note to let you know we have updated the Hedge Fund Tracker profile for Citadel Investment Group, LLC.

To see the updated profile for this fund please see this page: Citadel Investment Group LLC


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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/citadel-investment-group-hedge-fund-notes-updated/feed/ 0 Kenneth Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group, Inc. Update http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/kenneth-griffins-citadel-investment-group-inc-update/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/kenneth-griffins-citadel-investment-group-inc-update/#comments Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:17:12 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-7857250358095200903 Kenneth Griffin

Citadel Investment Group, Inc. | Update

Just a quick note that we have just updated Citadel Investment Group's Hedge Fund Tracker Tool profile.

View the updated profile now by clicking on this link: Citadel Investment Group LLC.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/kenneth-griffins-citadel-investment-group-inc-update/feed/ 0 Clarium Capital Management Hedge Fund | Peter Thiel | Hedge Fund Notes http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/clarium-capital-management-hedge-fund-peter-thiel-hedge-fund-notes/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/clarium-capital-management-hedge-fund-peter-thiel-hedge-fund-notes/#comments Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:46:03 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-1156262658072734627 Clarium Capital

Clarium Capital Hedge Fund Tracker Notes

Clarium Capital Management | Peter ThielThe following piece on Vision Capital Advisors is being published as part of our daily effort to track hedge fund events in the industry. To review other hedge fund research please see our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool.

Here is a detailed 13F Holdings Analysis on Clarium Capital Management

The New York State Common retirement Fund invested $5 million in Clarium Capital’s Global Macro Fund. The deal was completed in March 2008 and will be part of the Retirement Fund’s Absolute Return Strategy.

Clarium’s LP Fund fell 13% in August largely due to its bets against the dollar. The Fund is still up 27% YTD. “As a macro hedge fund, Clarium seeks to profit from broad economic trends by trading stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities. Macro hedge funds have been the year's best performers.” Clarium has made major adjustments to their strategy recently. Around August 1st the firm “borrowed $4.60 for every $1 of capital, yet now it is using no borrowed money and is investing just 36 percent of his assets, according to the update given to investors.”

Calrium’s total Assets Under Management rose to $7.35 billion in July 2008. The firm has enjoyed gains due to its short equity and dollar, long oil strategy. Managing Director Kevin Harrington has stated that they have reduced their oil trades, but continues to bet against the dollar.

Robert Morrow of Clarium Capital wrote an article about how politics affect global macro investors. He talks about trade and immigration among other topics.

This is a profile of Hedge Fund Manager Peter Thiel. Thiel made his millions with Internet startup PayPal, and has since devoted his energy and money to Clarium Capital. The article describes the Thiel career, the firm’s goals and work environment at Clarium. “Thiel has wagered all of his clients money on the conviction that aftershocks from the go-go 90’s will jar the US…the housing bubble will collapse and economic growth will stall…an oil shock will add to the pain.”

An article from 2006, Thiel says that Global Macro Funds will benefit from the current market conditions. Global Macro Funds have a low correlation to other hedge funds at just under .5 and look to benefit from surging oil prices. The popularity of Global Macro Funds continues to rise.

Clarium’s Vice President of Research and Trading Patrick Wolff wrote a detailed report of what he calls the “Long Boom” and its afftects on the Baby Boomer Generations. He says that after the boom ended in 2000, people are faced with using some combinations of working longer, spending less, and “compensating for lower expected returns with greater leverage.” He believes that Macro Managers must adjust accordingly if people choose to “increase risk instead of accepting lower returns.”

Managing Director and Head of Research Kevin Harrington wrote a lengthy report on oil. He speculates as to why the price has gone up and the effects this has on the economy.

A list of the top Hedge Fund Managers from the University of Notre Dame. Thiel makes the list on page 9. It is interesting to note that his firm does not charge a management fee, but rather collects 25% of the profits.

This article talks about Asian Strategies of Hedge Funds. There is a sidebar on Clarium Capital on pg. 25 in which the firm’s Chief Investment Officer stresses the growing importance of Asia, mostly China, India and Japan, in making Macro decisions.

Pete Thiel is quoted in this article about oil price surges. He discusses how events likes hurricanes can affect prices. Clarium is heavily invested in oil.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/clarium-capital-management-hedge-fund-peter-thiel-hedge-fund-notes/feed/ 0 Caxton Associates Hedge Fund | Exclusive 13F Holdings Analysis http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/caxton-associates-hedge-fund-exclusive-13f-holdings-analysis/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/caxton-associates-hedge-fund-exclusive-13f-holdings-analysis/#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:33:43 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-4864085456662095756 Caxton Associatese

Caxton Associates Hedge Fund Holdings

Caxton Associates Hedge Fund | 13F Holdings AnalysisThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Up next in the macro hedge fund tracking series we have Caxton Associates, ran by Bruce Kovner. Taken from Wikipedia, Kovner's bio is as follows: "Kovner's first trade was for $3,000, borrowed against his MasterCard, in soybean futures contracts. Realizing growth to $40,000, he then watched the contract drop to $23,000 before selling. He later claimed that this first, nerve-racking trade taught him the importance of hedge fund risk management. In his eventual role as a trader under the legendary Michael Marcus at Commodities Corporation (now part of Goldman Sachs), he purportedly made millions and gained widespread respect as an objective and sober trader. This ultimately led to the establishment of his current company, Caxton Associates, in 1983, which today manages over $10 billion in capital and has been closed to new investors since 1992." Year-to-date, Caxton Associates was up 5% as of a few weeks ago.

So, now that we've got a background on Kovner and Caxton Associates, let's take a quick look at his portfolio highlights. Keep in mind that this is merely a brief summary of Caxton's top holdings. Due to the time sensitive nature of the 13F material, I wanted to get this information posted before the next set of filings come out in November.

Top 20 Holdings by % of portfolio
1. Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) - Increased position by 72934%, from 25,000 shares to 18,233,668 shares
2. Electronic Data Systems (EDS) - New Position
3. Activision (ATVI) - New Position
4. Monsanto (MON) - Increased position by 41 %
5. Rockwood Holdings (ROC) - Increased position by 68.8%
6. W-H Energy Services (WHQ) - Increased stake by 195%
7. Occidental (OXY) - Increased stake by 65%
8. ChoicePoint (CPS) - Decreased position by
9. DirecTV (DTV) - Decreased stake by 25%
10. W.R. Grace (GRA) - Boosted stake by 8%
11. Qualcomm (QCOM) - Boosted stake by 44.6%
12. Coca Cola (KO) - Decreased position by 12.5%
13. Rural Cellular (RCCC) - Increased stake by 12.4%
14. Research in Motion (RIMM) - Boosted stake by 8.7%
15. Service Corporation (SCI) - Increased position by 32%
16. Nucor (NUE) - Boosted position by 37%
17. (ANST) - New position
18. XTO (XTO) - Boosted stake by 150%
19. Stewart Enterprises (STEI) - Increased position by 12%
20. Gilead (GILD) - Decreased position by 26.7%

Kovner's Caxton Associates definitely disassociate themselves from the rest of the macro pack when it comes to the equity side of their portfolio. While their portfolio does hold typical energy and technology names often seen in other hedge fund portfolios, they also hold seemingly obscure names that I have yet to see pop up in any other funds I track. So, Kovner and his team may have discovered some diamonds in the rough here. In particular, I want to focus on his top holding: Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU). In the quarter prior to the filing, he held just 25,000 shares of this name. Then, over this past quarter, he ratcheted up his holdings in the name big time. He increased his position by 72,934%, bringing it all the way up to his firm's top holding, with a market value of over $642 million at the time of the filing. Needless to say, they bought this name with conviction. And, although I've seen numerous other funds buying up shares of Latin & South American beverage companies, this is the first fund I've seen pick up this name. So, definitely keep an eye on it.

Additionally, I want to point out his holdings in Rocwood Holdings (ROC), W-H Energy Services (WHQ), and Service Corporation (SCI). These are three other names I am seeing for the first time amongst the hedge funds I track. And, he was adding across the board to all three names. Caxton added to WHQ the most, increasing their position by 195%.

Now, turning to the 'hedge fund favorite' names that tend to pop up in numerous hedge fund portfolios that I track, we see Caxton holds positions in Qualcomm (QCOM), Research in Motion (RIMM), XTO Energy (XTO), Occidental (OXY), and Gilead (GILD). Caxton was out adding pretty moderately to all these names. OXY and XTO are easily two of the favorite equity energy plays amongst various hedge funds. And, you have to wonder how they affected their portfolio, given the volatile ride energy stocks have seen as of late. Turning to tech, we see that Caxton, like so many other funds, enjoy large positions in both QCOM and RIMM. As I've noted before, QCOM is easily a top five most common equity holding among the hedge funds I track. And, just like energy, technology stocks have been whipsawed around a lot recently. So, although Caxton was out adding this past quarter, we'll have to see if they were still adding to these names come the next 13F filing.

We already knew hedge funds (and macro funds in particular) had a rough July. And, it's easy to see why, with the heavy commodity exposure many of them had. What we don't yet know is how they've rebounded (if at all). Lastly, I just want to re-emphasize that since Caxton is a macro fund, they obviously have the majority of their positions in the commodity, currency, futures, or other markets. But, at the same time, they still have a sizable chunk of money in the equity markets.

Caxton Associates' full 13F filing listing every position can be found at the SEC.

Guest post by Market Folly

Please check here next week for some further analysis on specific holdings of leading hedge funds.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/caxton-associates-hedge-fund-exclusive-13f-holdings-analysis/feed/ 0 Clarium Capital Management | Peter Thiel San Francisco Hedge Fund | Holdings Analysis http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/clarium-capital-management-peter-thiel-san-francisco-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/clarium-capital-management-peter-thiel-san-francisco-hedge-fund-holdings-analysis/#comments Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:29:01 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-1801821847602167115 Clarium Capital Management

Clarium Capital | Peter Thiel Holdings Analysis


This post is being written as part of my Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

Clarium is a $6 billion global macro hedge fund run by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal. Although they had a rough July (-6.8%), Clarium is still up over 45% year to date. Assets under management have recently ballooned to the highest amount in Clarium's history. It will be interesting to see how effective Clarium will be at deploying this new capital.

Now, to the 13F. I actually hesitated even doing a 13F analysis on Clarium Capital simply because when I say they are a global macro fund, I really mean it. The 13F they filed with the SEC details only the equities held in their portfolio. And, all their equities combined only totaled a little over $93 million. And, considering they have over $6 billion AUM, we have a bit of a problem here. The bulk of their holdings/trades seem to be in the actual commodities, futures, and currency markets themselves. And, the 13F only details equities held. So, I just wanted to point that out to everyone before proceeding further. I still think its interesting to at least see what they hold. But, take it with a grain of salt because the majority of their capital is deployed in other financial instruments/markets.

The following are Clarium Capital's current holdings as of June 30th 2008, as released in their most recent 13F filing with the SEC. I've compared the positions in this most recent 13F to last quarter's 13F and here are the changes they made to their portfolio:

New Positions: (in no particular order)
Wendy's (WEN) 7,400 shares
Pinnacle Air (PNCL) 15,220 shares
Fairfax Financial (FFH) 15,000 shares
Nvidia (NVDA) 18,000 shares
NRG Energy (NRG) 9,776 shares
MFA Mortgage Investments (MFA) 50,000 shares
Marathon Oil (MRO) 10,000 shares
Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) 12,000 shares
ITT Corp (ITT) 35,000 shares
Istar Financial (SFI) 99,800 shares
Honeywell (HON) 17,700 shares
Conoco Phillips (COP) 107,900 shares
Chevron (CVX) 6,000 shares
Canadian Superior Energy (SNG) 500,000 shares
Black and Decker (BDK) 23,437 shares
Altria Group (MO) 52,639 shares
Aircastle (AYR) 23,400 shares


Added to:
Frontier Oil (FTO): Increased their position by 1353%
Occidental Petroleum (OXY): Increased their position by 302%
CVS Caremark (CVS): Increased their position by 179%
American Express (AXP): Increased their position by 111%
Colgate Palmolive (CL): Increased their position by 77%
Oneok Inc (OKE): Increased their position by 75%
Sothebys (BID): Increased their position by 60%
Nucor (NUE): Increased their position by 49%
Cabot Oil and Gas COG): Increased their position by 42%
Foster Wheeler (FWLT): Increased their position by 22%
Walmart Stores (WMT): Increased their position by 21%
McDonald's (MCD): Increased their position by 14%
Royal Caribbean (RCL): Increased their position by 11%
Hewlett Packard (HPQ): Increased their position by 3%


Reduced Positions:
Mylan (MYL): Decreased their position by 25%
Procter and Gamble (PG): Decreased their position by 75%


Removed Positions (Positions Clarium sold out of completely):
Zimmer Holdings (ZMH)
Western Refining (WNR)
Viropharma (VPHM)
United Technologies (UTX)
McGraw Hill (MHP)
Lowes (LOW)
Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Leggett and Platt (LEG)
Heinz (HNZ)
General Motors (GM)
General Dynamics (GD)
Cisco Systems (CSCO)
Anheuser Busch (BUD)


Positions with no change:
Schering Plough (SGP)
Burlington Northern (BNI)


Top 10 holdings by % of portfolio:
1. Hewlett Packard (HPQ)
2. Conoco Phillips (COP)
3. American Express (AXP)
4. McDonalds (MCD)
5. Burlington Northern (BNI)
6. Occidental Petroleum (OXY)
7. Fairfax Financial (FFH)
8. Foster Wheeler (FWLT)
9. Royal Caribbean (RCL)
10. Frontier Oil (FTO)

---------------------------------------

Breakdown: Clarium's portfolio really looks "plain jane," doesn't it? There's nothing ridiculously exciting going on. It almost reminds me of a portfolio Warren Buffett would put his stamp of approval on. AXP, BNI, COP, and MCD are for the most part just slow and steady names that chug along with consistent returns. Again, this is why I want to reiterate that Clarium takes the majority of their positions in the commodities, futures, or currency markets since they truly are a global macro fund. The equity holdings reported in this SEC filing represent just a small sliver of their assets under management. So, on the equity side of things, Thiel has focused mostly on larger cap names with international exposure.

Clarium is definitely heavily weighted in the energy sector. They brought Conoco Phillips (COP) in as a new holding and bumped it up all the way to their 2nd largest equity position. He was also out adding to his Frontier Oil (FTO) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) positions in a big way. Keep in mind that these holdings were reported as of June 30th, 2008 (ie: Crude Oil hadn't started its rapid descent yet). So, we'll have to see next quarter whether he was building up long term positions in these names, or merely trying to ride the oil wave higher.

Thiel has a large bet on tech, but pretty much solely through Hewlett Packard (HPQ). He added some Nvidia (NVDA), but HPQ is the fund's top equity holding. I can't disagree with this choice, as HPQ has been firing on all cylinders with Mark Hurd really turning the company in the right direction. But, even though the company is performing well, the stock really isn't.

I also noticed that Thiel seems to also be playing the 'pooring of America' theme. His MCD and WMT positions give him exposure to the companies that offer everything on the cheap. But, what surprised me a little bit was his Royal Caribbean (RCL) stake being as large as it is. To me, this translates to a discretionary item since its a cruise/vacation after all. And, with the economy the way it is, you'd think that reservations would be down. But, Thiel obviously sees something here, so it might be worth looking at more in depth.

I also want to point out Thiel's position in American Express (AXP), now his fund's 3rd largest equity position. I'm seeing more and more funds pick up stakes in AXP. For the most part, funds have favored Mastercard (MA) and even Visa (V) for their payment processing business models. Now though, it seems more funds are rotating into AXP to get some credit exposure as well. While I think American Express (AXP) is a well run company and typically has a higher credit grade portfolio, I still question adding this name. The credit exposure will continue to provide headwinds for the company and I'm curious to see what these funds do with this position over time.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention Burlington Northern (BNI). If there is one other common theme amongst hedge fund holdings, it is the rails. No matter how small or large their position, practically everyone has at least some sort of exposure to the rails. For Thiel & Clarium, BNI is their 5th largest equity holding.

You can view Clarium Capital's entire 13F as filed with the SEC here.

Guest Post by Market Folly.

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