In the first quarter of this year, renowned global investors opted for stability amidst an uncertain market outlook. Warren Buffett, known as the "Oracle of Omaha," increased his holdings in Bank of America and Occidental Petroleum stocks. However, he completely divested from New York Mellon Bank, US Bancorp, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) due to the anticipated impact of escalating US-China tensions. Despite being known for his long-term investments, Buffett disposed of all his TSMC shares in less than a year, indicating his assessment of the intensity of the US-China conflict.
George Soros, the "legend of the hedge fund industry," sold off significant stakes in US electric vehicle companies Tesla and Rivian. Instead, he increased his holdings in Walmart, Netflix, and others.
According to the 13F quarterly reports submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by hedge funds, asset managers, and investment firms on the 15th of the month, Buffett added to his positions in the top two holdings, Apple and Bank of America. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has approximately $325.1 billion (around 43.4 trillion won) invested in stocks.
Apple represents 46% of Buffett's portfolio, with the number of shares increasing by 2% from 890 million shares in the fourth quarter of last year to 910 million shares in the first quarter of this year. With Apple's stock price rising by 37% since the beginning of the year, Buffett benefited greatly. The valuation of his Apple shares surged by 30% from $116.3 billion in the fourth quarter of last year to $150.9 billion. Considering Apple's market capitalization of $2.7 trillion, Buffett's stake amounts to approximately 5%.
While Buffett increased his investment in Apple, he completely divested from the world's leading semiconductor foundry company, TSMC. In the third quarter of last year, Buffett reported holding $4.1 billion (around 5.4 trillion won) worth of TSMC shares. He sold a significant portion in the fourth quarter of last year and disposed of the remaining 8.2 million shares this time.
During Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting earlier this month, Buffett described TSMC as a "wonderful company" and acknowledged that there is no other company in the same class as TSMC in the semiconductor industry. However, he raised concerns about Taiwan's geopolitical position due to the escalating tensions between the US and China. Buffett further expressed his satisfaction with investing in Japan rather than Taiwan.
Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, which brought significant profits to Buffett last year, were treated differently this time. Chevron, which accounts for 6.6% of Buffett's portfolio, was partially sold, while Occidental Petroleum, representing 4.1%, saw additional purchases. Buffett reduced his stake in Chevron from 160 million shares to 130 million shares, a 19% decrease, and increased his holdings in Occidental Petroleum from 190 million shares to 210 million shares, a 9% increase. Berkshire Hathaway is currently the largest shareholder of Occidental Petroleum, and Buffett explicitly stated that he would not participate in the acquisition of Occidental Petroleum during the shareholders' meeting.
The portfolios of these prominent investors, as revealed in the 13F filings, received significant attention due to the inclusion of bank stocks after the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10.
Bank of America represents 9% of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio. Buffett increased his holdings by 2% from 1.01 billion shares to 1.03 billion shares. However, given that Bank of America's stock price has declined by 17% since the beginning of the year, Buffett also incurred losses. The valuation of this stock decreased by
12% from $33.4 billion to $29.5 billion. Additionally, Buffett made a new $9 billion investment in Wells Fargo. Capital One Financial, specializing in credit cards and auto loans, is the third-largest credit card issuer in the United States, following Visa and Mastercard. Buffett completely disposed of his stakes in New York Mellon Bank and US Bancorp.
On the same day, it was revealed that Michael Burry, the real-life protagonist of the movie "The Big Short," had purchased bank stocks. Burry, who predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, implied the potential recovery of the banking sector. In the portfolio of his hedge fund, Scion Asset Management, at the end of the first quarter, 850,000 shares of New York Community Bancorp and 70,000 shares of Capital One Financial were added. He also made new purchases of regional bank stocks that experienced significant price declines, including 250,000 shares of PacWest Bancorp and 150,000 shares of First Republic Bank.
On the other hand, billionaire investor George Soros sold off significant stakes in Tesla and other electric vehicle companies. Soros Fund Management had been accumulating Tesla shares since the second quarter of last year, but in the first quarter, they sold off all 130,000 shares. Considering Tesla's stock price has risen by 53% since the beginning of the year, Soros likely made substantial profits. Soros also significantly reduced his holdings in Rivian, a US electric vehicle startup. The number of shares decreased from 14 million at the end of last year to 3.5 million at the end of March this year, a reduction of about 75%. During the same period, Soros Fund Management made new purchases of Walmart, Netflix, and Chinese e-commerce company JD.com.
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