Insiders

Ackman's hedge fund gains nearly 25 percent in early 2019

February 13, 2019 at 11:01 am EST

BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund manager William Ackman told investors that his publicly traded portfolio has gained 24.7 percent this year, fueled by strong growth in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Chipotle Mexican Grill stocks.

"2019 is off to a strong start," Ackman wrote in a presentation detailing his Pershing Square Capital Management's portfolio and performance. The S&P 500 stock index has gained 9.7 percent this year.

"We expect our portfolio to compound earnings and intrinsic value at a much higher than the market," Ackman wrote in the presentation.

The firm now oversees $7.9 billion, with the bulk of assets located in Pershing Square Holdings. His private hedge fund, Pershing Square International Ltd, oversees roughly $1.2 billion.

Mortgage lender Fannie Mae common shares have surged 140.6 percent while Freddie Mac shares have climbed 130.2 percent to power the portfolio, Ackman wrote. Chipotle shares gained 37.5 percent and United Technologies shares have climbed 16.4 percent, he added, noting that all holdings are in the black.

For Pershing Square Holdings, the first weeks of 2019 mark the strongest returns since 2014, when the portfolio returned 40.5 percent.

Over the last four years, Ackman has lost money and he has vowed to make it back by reshaping his organization.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

Stocks mentioned in the article

Add to a list Add to a list 0 selected To use this feature you must be a member Log in Sign up	Price	Change	5d. change	Capi.
NASDAQ COMPOSITE	15,612 PTS	-0.64%	-0.46%	-
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL	38,086 PTS	-0.98%	+0.88%	-
NASDAQ 100	17,431 PTS	-0.55%	-0.36%	-
S&P 500	5,048 PTS	-0.46%	+0.52%	-

William Ackman

William (Bill) Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, an American hedge fund that holds shares in Wendy’s International and McDonald’s Corporation. As well it has interest in Target Corp., the second largest discount company in US.

Graduated at Harvard College, he holds also an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career working for his father in the real estate, and in 1993 he founded Gotham Partners Management Co. This investment company encounters some troubles including legal problems that will lead to its dissolution in 2003.

In 2004, William Ackman comes back on the financial stage. He has created Pershing Square Capital, and he showed a lot of activism buying massive share in the lowest price for resale in two years maximum. A short-term strategy often criticized by the US Medias. His different attacks against FSA, American division of Dexia, and also against MBIA and Ambac, that it forecast the collapse, earned him a strong enmity in financial world.

In 2007, William Ackman took a share up to 5 millions of dollar (3,5%) in Sears Holdings, third group in distribution sector in US, behind Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

Pershing Square Capital Management manages approximately 2.4 billion of dollar of which 40% was invested in shares of McDonald.

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Pershing Square Capital Management LP Pershing Square Capital Management LP Investment ManagersFinance Pershing Square Capital Management LP (PSCM) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 2003 by William Ackman and David Berkowitz. PSCM provides investment advisory services to a variety of private investment funds.	Chief Executive Officer
Pershing Square Foundation	Founder

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