Latest news with #CarolinaMandl
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hedge funds shift bets to double down on Big Tech amid AI boom
By Anirban Sen and Carolina Mandl NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wall Street's largest hedge funds, Bridgewater Associates, Tiger Global Management and Discovery Capital, increased their exposure to Big Tech in the second quarter amid a generational boom in the growth of artificial intelligence. During the June quarter, hedge funds cut their exposure to laggards in industries like aerospace and defense, and consumer and retail, as part of a broader move back to momentum investing. It marks a big shift from earlier this year when bets on Big Tech had soured for top money managers due to tariff-fueled volatility in financial markets, with investor concerns around rising inflation and fears of a bubble in AI triggering a sell-off in "Magnificent Seven" stocks. Since then, tech stocks have staged a big comeback. The S&P 500 is up 10% so far this year, buoyed largely by the largest tech companies, which account for nearly a third of the combined market cap of companies on the index. Outside technology, some hedge funds, such as Lone Pine and Discovery, also bet on UnitedHealth Group. Berkshire Hathaway and Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management also unveiled bets on the insurer, while Soros Fund Management boosted an existing position. Shares in UnitedHealth are down 46% this year, as the company faces rising costs, a U.S. Department of Justice probe, a cyberattack and the shooting of former top executive Brian Thompson last December. The fund's positions were revealed in quarterly securities filings known as 13Fs. While backward-looking, these filings typically reveal what funds owned on the last day of the quarter and are one of the few ways hedge funds and other institutional investors have to declare their positions. Below are the details of the changes in the holdings of the top hedge funds: BRIDGEWATER ASSOCIATES Bridgewater Associates added more shares in Nvidia, Alphabet and Microsoft in the second quarter. The macro hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio more than doubled its bets in Nvidia. It ended June with 7.23 million shares in the chipmaker, or 154.5% more than it had at the end of March. Nvidia was Bridgewater's biggest bet in a single stock, totaling $1.14 billion. Its holdings in Alphabet and Microsoft went up by 84.1% and 111.9%, respectively, amounting to $987 million and $853 million. Other AI-related stocks added were Broadcom (+102.7%), to 317.8 million shares, or $317 million, and Palo Alto Networks (+117%), to 313.8 million, or $314 million. DISCOVERY CAPITAL Discovery Capital, whose founder Rob Citrone has recently been bullish on Mexico's America Movil due to its exposure to Latin America, doubled its stake in the wireless provider during the second quarter. For the quarter ended June 30, the fund amassed another 2.65 million shares, valuing its current holding in America Movil at about $95 million. Citrone's hedge fund, which generated a 52% windfall on its investments last year, has increased its exposure to Latin America as part of a strategy to diversify from U.S. holdings. During the quarter, Discovery increased its holdings in Big Tech, as it more than doubled its stake in Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, while also betting on booming demand for AI as it took a new position in Nvidia-backed cloud provider CoreWeave. The hedge fund also increased its position in UnitedHealth by 13%. TIGER GLOBAL MANAGEMENT Tiger Global Management bought more stocks in some Magnificent Seven companies in the second quarter, including Alphabet, Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta, its 13Fs showed. Chase Coleman's hedge fund added roughly 4 million shares of Amazon and ended June with roughly 10 million shares, worth $2.34 billion. The fund also increased its bets in smaller AI-players. It added over 800,000 shares in chip-making equipment supplier Lam Research Corp, ending June with 5.26 million shares, valued at $512 million. COATUE MANAGEMENT Many changes in Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management portfolio were also around AI-related stocks. It unveiled new positions in both Arm Holdings and Oracle, adding stakes worth roughly $750 million and $843 million, respectively. Both companies have boosted AI-related business initiatives. Coatue also increased its holdings in Nvidia-backed CoreWeave, adding 3.39 million shares in the second quarter, with its stake in the company worth $2.9 billion. LONE PINE Lone Pine Capital took a new position in UnitedHealth Group, buying up 1.69 million shares worth about $528 million during the June quarter.


Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Hedge funds shift bets to double down on Big Tech amid AI boom
By Anirban Sen and Carolina Mandl NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street's largest hedge funds, Bridgewater Associates, Tiger Global Management and Discovery Capital, increased their exposure to Big Tech in the second quarter amid a generational boom in the growth of artificial intelligence. During the June quarter, hedge funds cut their exposure to laggards in industries like aerospace and defense, and consumer and retail, as part of a broader move back to momentum investing. It marks a big shift from earlier this year when bets on Big Tech had soured for top money managers due to tariff-fueled volatility in financial markets, with investor concerns around rising inflation and fears of a bubble in AI triggering a sell-off in "Magnificent Seven" stocks. Since then, tech stocks have staged a big comeback. The S&P 500 is up 10% so far this year, buoyed largely by the largest tech companies, which account for nearly a third of the combined market cap of companies on the index. Outside technology, some hedge funds, such as Lone Pine and Discovery, also bet on UnitedHealth Group. Berkshire Hathaway and Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management also unveiled bets on the insurer, while Soros Fund Management boosted an existing position. Shares in UnitedHealth are down 46% this year, as the company faces rising costs, a U.S. Department of Justice probe, a cyberattack and the shooting of former top executive Brian Thompson last December. The fund's positions were revealed in quarterly securities filings known as 13Fs. While backward-looking, these filings typically reveal what funds owned on the last day of the quarter and are one of the few ways hedge funds and other institutional investors have to declare their positions. Below are the details of the changes in the holdings of the top hedge funds: Bridgewater Associates added more shares in Nvidia, Alphabet and Microsoft in the second quarter. The macro hedge fund founded by Ray Dalio more than doubled its bets in Nvidia. It ended June with 7.23 million shares in the chipmaker, or 154.5% more than it had at the end of March. Nvidia was Bridgewater's biggest bet in a single stock, totaling $1.14 billion. Its holdings in Alphabet and Microsoft went up by 84.1% and 111.9%, respectively, amounting to $987 million and $853 million. Other AI-related stocks added were Broadcom ( 102.7%), to 317.8 million shares, or $317 million, and Palo Alto Networks ( 117%), to 313.8 million, or $314 million. Discovery Capital, whose founder Rob Citrone has recently been bullish on Mexico's America Movil due to its exposure to Latin America, doubled its stake in the wireless provider during the second quarter. For the quarter ended June 30, the fund amassed another 2.65 million shares, valuing its current holding in America Movil at about $95 million. Citrone's hedge fund, which generated a 52% windfall on its investments last year, has increased its exposure to Latin America as part of a strategy to diversify from U.S. holdings. During the quarter, Discovery increased its holdings in Big Tech, as it more than doubled its stake in Meta Platforms , the parent company of Facebook, while also betting on booming demand for AI as it took a new position in Nvidia-backed cloud provider CoreWeave. The hedge fund also increased its position in UnitedHealth by 13%. Tiger Global Management bought more stocks in some Magnificent Seven companies in the second quarter, including Alphabet, Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta, its 13Fs showed. Chase Coleman's hedge fund added roughly 4 million shares of Amazon and ended June with roughly 10 million shares, worth $2.34 billion. The fund also increased its bets in smaller AI-players. It added over 800,000 shares in chip-making equipment supplier Lam Research Corp, ending June with 5.26 million shares, valued at $512 million. Many changes in Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management portfolio were also around AI-related stocks. It unveiled new positions in both Arm Holdings and Oracle, adding stakes worth roughly $750 million and $843 million, respectively. Both companies have boosted AI-related business initiatives. Coatue also increased its holdings in Nvidia-backed CoreWeave, adding 3.39 million shares in the second quarter, with its stake in the company worth $2.9 billion. Lone Pine Capital took a new position in UnitedHealth Group, buying up 1.69 million shares worth about $528 million during the June quarter. (Reporting by Carolina Mandl and Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)


Zawya
03-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nvidia set to become the world's most valuable company in history
Nvidia was on track to become the most valuable company in history on Thursday, with the chipmaker's market capitalization reaching $3.915 trillion as Wall Street doubled down on optimism about AI. Shares of the leading designer of high-end AI chips were up 2% at $160.4 in morning trading, giving the company a higher market capitalization than Apple's record closing value of $3.915 trillion on December 26, 2024. (Reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, California; Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru and Carolina Mandl in New York; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Matthew Lewis)
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investment groups call for exemption of passive income from US tax bill
By Carolina Mandl NEW YORK (Reuters) -Six investment groups representing sectors including fund managers, venture capital and real estate in a letter to two Senate Republicans over the tax and spending bill now under debate asked that passive investments be exempt from a provision of the bill that targets foreign investors. The proposal would allow the imposition of new taxes on residents, businesses and other entities from countries that are found to impose "unfair foreign taxes." It targets, for instance, income from investments, rents and dividends. The investment groups said the levy, which includes the possibility of imposing a progressive tax burden of up to 20% on foreign investors' passive income, could spook investments in the U.S. The new tax "would significantly disrupt U.S. public and private debt and equity markets," the associations said in the letter, which was sent to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo on Monday evening. The groups said there would be the risk of investors selling portfolios in advance of the new levy. "This unnecessary sell-off will cause U.S. asset values to fall," they said in the letter. Although Senate Republicans proposed changes to the tax and spending bill that the House of Representatives passed last month, the Senate kept the provision of a tax targeting foreign investors. Under the Senate version, however, the tax would take effect in 2027, one year after the House version. The letter was jointly submitted by the Managed Funds Association, American Investment Council, Investment Company Institute, Loan Syndications and Trading Association, National Venture Capital Association and the Real Estate Roundtable. In notes to clients, many Wall Street analysts have cautioned that the levy could end up weighing on demand for U.S. assets. Multinational companies have said they could shut down operations in the U.S. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-Investors eye Latin America as they diversify away from Wall Street
By Rodrigo Campos and Carolina Mandl NEW YORK (Reuters) -Latin America has emerged as a top investing destination as ongoing wars - both of the military and trade variety - make investors seek options in a region they view as refreshingly untroubled by tariffs and major conflicts. Portfolio flows data suggests that investors are largely underexposed to Latin America even as many stock markets - including Brazil's and Mexico's - are trading at or near record highs, while sovereign bonds offer still-attractive yields. Although some prefer not to chase a stock rally, others have focused on the local debt market. "The Latam story is easier to tell now as stocks are cheap and there is a lack of options in emerging markets," said Leonard Linnet, head of equities at Itau BBA. "China is at the epicenter of the trade war, India is more expensive and has some geopolitical issues with Pakistan and investors are avoiding investing in Russia.' Brazil and Mexico are the behemoths where most international investors concentrate their exposure to Latin America. Both carry by far the largest regional weights in global benchmarks for stocks and bonds. Among all emerging markets, however, the two countries are relatively small. Brazil, which is Latin America's largest economy and market, constitutes 60% of the MSCI Latam index and just below 5% of the broader EM index. The stock markets of both Brazil and Mexico are trading near record highs and at low valuations, and their bonds offer attractive yields with the backdrop of softening monetary policy. The investment avenues thin out for some institutions as some Latin American markets are comparatively illiquid or lack investment-grade credit ratings. But in that higher-risk environment other investors see returns. "The investment opportunity in Latam does not require large changes in global asset allocations," Rob Citrone, founder of global macro hedge fund Discovery Capital, told his investors recently. "Asset flows, on the margin, dictate much of the price performance, so small changes to large markets, such as the U.S., can have big impacts on smaller markets, such as most in Latam." After a 26% decline in the regional stock index last year, Latam is the best performer for stocks this year. Within the MSCI universe, investors are paying just over $9 for each dollar in earnings across Latam - compared with more than $19 for developed markets. Although Mexico is closer to the trade war's epicenter, its listed companies are not so exposed to it, so the country's stocks are moving higher. "Price-to-earnings multiples in Latam are low now even when compared with its own historical average," said Itau BBA's Linnet. "Brazil is not only cheaper than China and India, it is trading at a 23% discount from (itself)." Netherlands-based Robeco has been increasing allocation to Latin America, mainly to Mexico, Brazil and Chile, as it has partially shifted away from the U.S., said Wim-Hein Pals, head of emerging markets team at Robeco. The firm is overweight Latam, while it is close to neutral China and underweight India. Both dollar weakness and idiosyncratic stories, including last year's FX selloff, have bolstered the region's currencies. With its benchmark interest rate at 14.75%, Brazil's real has emerged as one of the favored global carry currencies and is up 9% against the greenback this year. The Latin America currency index is up nearly 15% this year and last week touched a 14-year high. The outlook for the global economy and the issue of reallocating outside of the United States both face uncertainties and it is far too soon to expect material inflows to Latin America, said Graham Stock, senior emerging market strategist at RBC Global Asset Management. "Having said that, you could always see short-term trades that are dollar-bearish, and you could see some allocation into Latin American currencies, because they're high yielding. The carry is attractive there, and I think that is part of what we've seen." Beyond the region's largest economies, Argentina has been a forbidden fruit of sorts for investors over the past years. Its dollar debt has returned over 100% at the index level since President Javier Milei was elected in late 2023 and the local Argentine stock index rose 173% last year. Yet Argentina remains outside major benchmarks, making the market inaccessible to some of the largest investors - some of whom have grown more curious about Argentine assets since capital controls were all but lifted in mid-April. "We couldn't buy in on Argentina for all practical purposes while they were under the capital controls," said Alison Shimada, head of the Total Emerging Markets Equity team at Allspring Global Investments. "Now that that has changed, we would be interested, and we're doing some work on it, but at the right price." Some investors would like to see more Latam companies listed. Brazil also attracts most of the region's venture capital, with over 1,400 VC-backed startups since 2013 as of the first half of last year, according to the most recent data from LAVCA, while Uruguay, Chile and Colombia emerged as alternative hubs for innovation. Regardless of how many of these startups actually go to market, they will likely find investors thirsty for places to put money to work in the region. Said Allspring's Shimada: "I'd love to see those smaller countries have more listed assets." Sign in to access your portfolio