Key investors like Buffett, Dalio, Burry, and Druckenmiller reshaped portfolios in Q1 2024, reflecting diverse strategies amid market shifts.
- Warren Buffett sold a significant portion of his Apple holdings and bought Chubb, citing future tax concerns.
- Ray Dalio increased his tech stock investments while selling consumer-related stocks like Pinduoduo and Coca-Cola.
- Stanley Druckenmiller reduced his Nvidia position and increased his exposure to the Russell 2000 small-cap index.
- Michael Burry boosted his positions in Alibaba and JD.com, increased his gold holdings, and sold Oracle and CVS shares.
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After the release of the 13F filings, we gained insights into the actions of major investors in Q1 2024.
This quarter saw significant movements from many investors, including Warren Buffett, who sold a substantial portion of his Apple (AAPL) holdings, and Michael Burry, who increased his positions in Chinese equities such as Alibaba (BABA) and JD.com (JD), among other notable changes.
Here is a brief summary of the top holdings, top buys, and top sells of prominent investors this quarter:
Warren Buffett (Berkshire Hathaway)
As mentioned, Warren Buffett’s most notable move was selling a significant portion of his Apple shares, which now make up about 40.8% of his portfolio. Buffett cited potential future tax increases as the primary reason for this sale.
On the buying side, the document reveals that Buffett had been purchasing Chubb (CB), a Swiss-based insurance company, which he had previously kept confidential.
Ray Dalio (Bridgewater Associates)
Ray Dalio, known for his All Weather Portfolio, maintains a strong exposure to S&P 500 ETFs, followed by an emerging markets ETF. He also showed a favorable stance towards big tech, buying shares of Google (GOOGL), Nvidia (NVDA), and Apple (AAPL).
His sales were mainly consumer-related stocks, including the Chinese company Pinduoduo (PDD), Coca-Cola (KO), and Costco (COST).
Michael Burry (Scion Asset Management)
With his dynamic and distinctive portfolio, Dr. Michael Burry continues to hold major positions in Chinese companies Alibaba and JD.com. He also significantly increased his exposure to Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS), a gold ETF, which is notable given his reputation for predicting the 2008 financial crisis.
On the selling side, Burry reduced his holdings in Oracle (ORCL) and CVS Caremark (CVS).
Bill Ackman (Pershing Square Capital Management)
Bill Ackman, known for his long-term strategy and focused portfolio, continues to hold significant positions in Chipotle (CMG) and Restaurant Brands International (QSR). His only move during this period was selling his shares in Lowe’s (LOW).
Stanley Druckenmiller (Duquesne Family Office)
Druckenmiller, who has a more tactical bias, closed his position in Nvidia (NVDA), both long through stocks and through calls. What is most striking is his move towards a large exposure to the Russell 2000 small-cap index (IWM) through calls, which in the notional appears as 15% of his portfolio.
Compared to recent years, it is notable that this ETF has lagged behind the S&P500, with a performance of -5% compared to 27.7% for SPY over the last 3 years.
The Bottom Line
All in all, investors differed in their positions and movements during the quarter, indicating not only how dynamic the stock market is but also that there are several ways to make money, like Ackman, who has large exposures to companies he trusts, while Druckenmiller adopts more tactical positions.
Among the highlights, I’m particularly struck by Burry’s strong exposure to Chinese companies, as well as his purchase of gold, Dalio’s sale of names linked to consumption, Druckenmiller’s reduction of Nvidia after significant gains (indicating that perhaps the upside is smaller) and finally, his exposure to the Small Caps index, suggesting that perhaps the gap with the main index is large.
(Disclaimers: this is not investment advice. The author may be long one or more stocks mentioned in this report. Also, the article may contain affiliate links. These partnerships do not influence editorial content)
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