Every quarter, fund managers have to disclose what they've bought and sold. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.
Today let's look at Viking Global Investors, founded in 1999 by Andreas Halvorsen and David Ott, who had previously worked together at Julian Robertson's respected Tiger Management firm. Viking is known as a long-short global equity fund, meaning that it aims to maintain long positions in companies on which it's bullish, and short positions in those on which it's bearish.
Viking's stock portfolio totaled $9.6 billion in value as of Dec. 31, 2011, with 57 holdings. The top three holdings, representing 17% of Viking's total value, were US Bancorp, Invesco, and Apple.
Interesting developments
So what does Viking Global's latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:
One new holding is Tata Motors
Viking already owned shares of Baidu
A holding that Viking cut back on was hospital operator Health Management Associates
Among the companies that Viking sold out of were SINA
We should never blindly copy any investor's moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. 13-F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.
Looking for promising investments? Check out our free special report -- " The Stocks Only the Smartest Investors Are Buying " -- and learn which stocks are appealing to Warren Buffett and other great investors.