Party like it's 1999: Soros, hedgies streaming into tech sector

Party like it's 1999: Soros, hedgies streaming into tech sector
Fund managers snapping up shares of Google, other IT outfits; solid six-month run
FEB 21, 2012
Billionaire George Soros' firm added shares in Google Inc. (GOOG) and Comverse Technology Inc. (CMVT) in the fourth quarter, leading purchases of technology stocks by asset managers in the quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC bought 258,774 shares of Mountain View, California-based Google, the largest maker of smartphone software, bringing the total position to 259,900 shares valued at $167.9 million as of Dec. 31, according to a filing yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Soros increased holdings of information technology stocks by 12 percent in the quarter. Hedge funds Lone Pine Capital LLC, Maverick Capital Ltd. and Lansdowne Partners LP also added to Google during the quarter, seeking to profit from a surge in technology stocks. Information technology stocks returned 19 percent over the past six months, the best out of 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Lone Pine, the Greenwich, Connecticut hedge fund run by Steve Mandel, bought shares of Google and Teradata Corp., increasing his technology holdings by 4.9 percent during the quarter. His Google stake was valued at $870 million at the end of the quarter, according to a regulatory filing. His holdings of Dayton, Ohio-based Teradata, a data-storage software company, were worth $336 million. Family Office Soros also added 14.7 million shares of New York-based Comverse Technology valued at $101 million at the end of the quarter. The firm sold 1.38 million shares, or 85 percent of its stake, in Visteon Corp., an auto-parts maker based in Van Buren Township, Michigan. The value of the firm's U.S. stock holdings was $4.18 billion at the end of December, according to the filing. Michael Vachon, a spokesman for Soros, declined to comment. Soros Fund Management decided in July to return outside capital and focus on running assets for Soros and his family, who made up the bulk of its then $25.5 billion assets, to avoid having to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by March 2012. --Bloomberg News--

Latest News

SEC seeks comment on prediction-market ETFs after May pause
SEC seeks comment on prediction-market ETFs after May pause

Roundhill, Bitwise and GraniteShares funds remain on hold while the agency weighs how novel ETFs should be regulated.

Dump investment banks, buy alternative asset managers, says Oppenheimer
Dump investment banks, buy alternative asset managers, says Oppenheimer

"Shares of alternative assets managers have lagged this year as investors grow wary of private-credit exposure."

TaxStatus rolls out rules-based tool to flag advice gaps
TaxStatus rolls out rules-based tool to flag advice gaps

The fintech platform is touting a new AI-free Planning Observations feature, which draws on IRS tax records to uncover opportunities for advisors.

Carson Group deepens Colorado presence with Arvada advisor deal
Carson Group deepens Colorado presence with Arvada advisor deal

The Omaha, Nebraska-based RIA's latest acquisition expands its Rocky Mountain footprint after two prior Colorado deals last year.

Slow advisor transitions are costing RIA firms money and talent, and the industry is starting to act
Slow advisor transitions are costing RIA firms money and talent, and the industry is starting to act

Operational drag between an advisor signing and accounts going live is emerging as a competitive liability for wealth management firms.

SPONSORED Who builds the income when the pension disappears?

Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income

SPONSORED Why direct indexing stopped being optional

Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.