Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Soros Fund Management LLC http://www.straightstocks.com Leading Stock Market News, Opinions and Commentary Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:37:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Investing in Crude Oil: The Best Way to Play Oil’s Imminent Rebound http://www.straightstocks.com/contrarian-perspectives/investing-in-crude-oil-the-best-way-to-play-oil%e2%80%99s-imminent-rebound/ http://www.straightstocks.com/contrarian-perspectives/investing-in-crude-oil-the-best-way-to-play-oil%e2%80%99s-imminent-rebound/#comments Thu, 19 Feb 2009 16:11:02 +0000 Investment U http://www.investmentu.com/IUEL/2009/February/investing-in-crude-oil.html http://www.straightstocks.com/contrarian-perspectives/investing-in-crude-oil-the-best-way-to-play-oil%e2%80%99s-imminent-rebound/feed/ 0 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 Testimonial Quotes | Congressional Hearing http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/hedge-fund-testimonial-quotes-congressional-hearing/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/hedge-fund-testimonial-quotes-congressional-hearing/#comments Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:04:52 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-7558601328036499185 Testimony Quotes

Congressional Hearing Quotes


Quick Links: Hedge Fund Testimonial Videos

Here are a series of quotes from yesterday's testimony.

``We do not need greater regulation of hedge funds,'' said Kenneth Griffin, founder of Citadel Investment Group LLC in Chicago. ``We've not seen hedge funds as a focal point of the carnage.''

Soros, founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, cautioned against ``ill-considered'' rules because this industry is reeling from market losses and client defections.


``I believe our tax situation is fair,'' Paulson said. ``If your constituents, whether a plumber or a teacher, bought a stock and if they held that stock for more than a year they would pay a long-term capital gains rate.''

``This isn't just about sophisticated, high-stakes investors anymore,'' Davis said. ``Institutional funds and public pensions now have a huge stake in hedge funds' promises of steady, above-market returns. That means public employees and middle-income senior citizens, not just Tom Wolfe's Masters of the Universe, lose money when hedge funds decline or collapse.''

Falcone, 46, said he supported more public disclosure and transparency. Investors ``have a right to know what assets companies have an interest in -- whether on or off their balance sheets -- and what those assets are really worth,'' he said.

Soros warned the committee against ``going overboard with regulation'' now that ``the bubble has now burst and hedge funds will be decimated.

``In our business, one of the most fundamental principles is alignment of our interests with those of our clients,'' said Paulson, who takes 20 percent of any gains. ``All of our funds have a 'high-water mark,' which means that if we lose money for our investors, we have to earn it back before we share in future profits.''

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Hedge-fund managers have had ``unimaginable success'' and, while being ``virtually unregulated,'' many enjoy special tax breaks, said Waxman, a California Democrat. Today's witnesses, he said, earned on average more than $1 billion last year, profits they were able in many cases to treat as capital gains rather than as ordinary income, which is taxed at a higher rate.

``I gotta tell you, that is a staggering amount of money,'' said Representative Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. ``You are not taxed like ordinary citizens.''

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/hedge-fund-testimonial-quotes-congressional-hearing/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 Soros Fund Management LLC | George Soros 13F Hedge Fund Holdings http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/soros-fund-management-llc-george-soros-13f-hedge-fund-holdings/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/soros-fund-management-llc-george-soros-13f-hedge-fund-holdings/#comments Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:03:01 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-5015000523710522023 Soros Fund Management

Soros Fund Management | Geroge Soros 13F Holdings


Soros Fund Management LLC | George Soros Hedge FundThis post is being written as part of HedgeFundBlogger.com's Investment Securities Tool which analyzes the holdings of hedge fund managers.

In Soros Fund Management's most recent 13F filing, Soros bought over an $800 million stake in Brazilian oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro (PBR). At the time, this massive purchase represented 22% of his entire portfolio and was his largest holding. And, interestingly enough, PBR is down nearly 30% since his purchase. Guess we'll have to wait til the next round of 13F's (next quarter) to see whether or not he still holds. Soros also made a big Potash (POT) purchase, increasing his position by over 2550% (from 65,500 shares to 1,747,707 shares). In another move, he also purchased over 9 million shares of Lehman Brothers (LEH), roughly a $180 million position at the time. He also made purchases in various commodity plays such as VALE (RIO) and Talisman Energy (TLM). All holdings were current as of June 20th, 2008. You can view Soros' full 13F as filed with the SEC here.

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]]> http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/soros-fund-management-llc-george-soros-13f-hedge-fund-holdings/feed/ 0 George Soros Hedge Fund Notes http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/george-soros-hedge-fund-notes/ http://www.straightstocks.com/investing-in-hedge-funds/george-soros-hedge-fund-notes/#comments Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:54:21 +0000 Richard C. Wilson tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-125009547106294711.post-7696482490539611567 George Soros

George Soros Hedge Fund Notes

George SorosThe following piece on System Absolute Return is being published as part of our daily effort to track hedge fund events in the industry. To review other hedge fund related announcements please see our Hedge Fund Tracker Tool.
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Billionaire George Soros's hedge fund may have lost at least $120 million on its stake in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., mostly acquired in the second quarter, as the investment bank suffered its worst financial result.

Soros Fund Management LLC, which manages $20 billion, purchased 9.47 million shares, or about 1.4 percent of New York- based Lehman, between March 31 and June 30, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The losses could be as high as $380 million, depending on when New York-based Soros purchased the stake and if he still owns the shares.
AllianceBernstein LP, Wellington Management Co. and Janus Capital Group Inc. also bought Lehman shares in the second quarter. Lehman today reported a $3.9 billion third-quarter loss, the biggest in its 158-year history, and said it will sell a majority stake in its asset-management unit, spin off commercial real-estate holdings and cut its dividend.

``There was a belief that Lehman was too big to fail,'' Geoff Bobroff, an investment-industry consultant in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, said of the reason investors may have bought the stock. ``They may still be rewarded if a buyer surfaces who will pay more per share than what they paid.'' more......

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