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George Soros is a globally known hedge fund investor. He was the head of the Quantum Fund hedge fund until 2011 when the company closed its doors to external investors. Presently, the company manages Soros’ personal wealth and operates as a family office. The current value of Soros’ portfolio is estimated at $10.75 Billion. An overview of George Soros’ portfolio would give investors an insight into the strategies and stock picks of a renowned hedge fund guru.
George Soros Funds
Soros Fund Management, previously known as Quantum Fund, invests globally in industrial products and much more to diversify the investment portfolio. It implements short term speculation while making its investment decisions. The hedge fund is famous for its strategy that analyses the market according to the macroeconomic trends in the global economy. This outlook is the result of the George Soros portfolio strategy to make smart investment decisions based on research and instinct. Certainly, considerable knowledge and expertise is needed to have that much confidence in speculating value investments.
His Portfolio Philosophy
George Soros portfolio is based on Soros’ philosophy of reflexivity. The theory is based on personal and epistemological biases that influence share prices in the market like Apple stock. Soros uses his extensive experience as a hedge fund investor to implement his philosophy into his investment strategies. For new investors, reflexivity can be highly risky and should be analyzed carefully before giving it a go.
However, George Soros is also hugely successful because of his diversified portfolio. His sector diversification includes 23.42% in technology, the largest among his investment picks. The technology sector includes Intuit stock among many others. Technology is followed by consumer discretionary and energy sectors at 19.77% and 11.55% respectively. The Soros 13F portfolio increased from $10.16B to $10.75B as of August 2015. The number of positions also increased from 225 to 263. Such a diversified portfolio certainly helps to mitigate risk and earn considerable returns.
Soros Diversifies Funds
To further diversify, George Soros and his Soros Fund Management team invest in a wide array of investment vehicles. In competition with the Icahn holdings, the George Soros portfolio size includes an average of 20% in US holdings. Next, very large debt holdings and small stock positions account for around 30% of the portfolio. Even in the US holdings, the long investments are diversified with a large number of small equity and a small number of large equity positions. On top of that, YPF South Africa, Time Warner Cable and Dow chemical are the top three individual stock positions in the portfolio. Of course, for individual investors, it would be less risky to focus on Soros’ long positions in the portfolio.
Involvement With Charity
Soros is the founder of the Open Society. The foundation is a network of foundations and organizations that collaborate to spread the truth to people. It is entirely unrelated to anything to do with investing or margin equity. The society is meant to keep any one party from creating a monopoly on truth and keep governments accountable for their actions. With over 100 countries participating, he continues to lead them with his philanthropic efforts.
Open Society Programs
The Open Society Foundation offers a wide variety of philanthropic programs aimed at helping in a number of areas. The foundation includes programs for early childhood, documentary photography, economic advancement, education support, fiscal governance, global drug policy, higher education, independent journalism, social justice, public health and women’s rights. In addition, they also have offices and programs for specific high-needs geographic areas, like Eurasia and the United States. Clearly, George Soros puts just as much effort into diversifying his philanthropy as he does for diversifying his portfolio with investments in clean energy ETF and much more.
George Soros is one of the wealthiest men in the world. His investment strategies work because of his experience and access to deals that he can afford. For most investors, however, this might be fairly risky. Do not blindly follow Soros’ investment stakes unless you have experience like owl creek asset management. Otherwise, the strategies could be detrimental for individual investors. Rather, try to extract helpful ideas and applicable strategies to complement your own investment goals.
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