Billionaire Bill Ackman has made a name for himself as an outspoken investor who takes activist positions through his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Unlike many other hedge fund managers, who invest in thousands of stocks and often have huge teams buying and selling, Ackman’s fund has a small number of stocks in which it has a significant position at any given time. Currently it only has 11 shares. These are the top five.
What stands out in Ackman’s portfolio is the emphasis on strong consumer brands. However, the highest position is from the third quarter onwards Brookfield Corporation (NYSE:BN). Brookfield is a kind of holding company. It offers asset management services and also operates businesses involved in infrastructure, energy, real estate and other industrial services. Ackman first took a position in Brookfield in the second quarter, which represents 14% of the portfolio as of the third quarter.
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The second largest holding company has been a favorite of the fund for years Hilton Worldwide Holdings (NYSE: HLT)which was the largest position last quarter. In third place Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG)which was the top position for a long time. Ackman hasn’t lost faith in Chipotle; he increased his position by almost 3,400% in the first quarter. But he has since added other stocks, most notably Brookfield and Nike (which is the sixth largest position and therefore not included in this list). Chipotle has also lost value in recent months, representing a smaller portion of the fund’s total value.
The top five is rounded off Restaurant brands International (NYSE:QSR) And Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE:HHH)both existing holding companies. Restaurant Brands owns brands such as Burger King and Popeye’s, and Howard Hughes is a real estate company.
Because Pershing Square has such a limited group of stocks, each of these companies is responsible for a similar amount of the total, and the value of the fund they represent can easily fluctuate based on price movements.
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