Invest Like a Pro: Och-Ziff Capital Management

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Well, when you're learning a new skill, imitation can also be a great way to hone your craft.

If you're learning guitar, you might pick up a book of Jimi Hendrix's licks or download the chords to a couple of Bob Dylan's songs. So when you're trying to become a better investor, it only makes sense to take a peek at what the professional investors are up to.

For the Fools who don't have the time or inclination to pick individual stocks on their own, Shannon Zimmerman at the Champion Funds newsletter has put together a collection of mutual funds that have collectively outperformed their benchmarks by 16%. For the rest of us, we can tune in directly to what some of the major funds are holding.

You see, the SEC requires institutional investment managers who manage $100 million or more to show their holdings via quarterly 13-F filings. So this week, in honor of its fresh start on the IPO track, I dug up the holdings of Och-Ziff, also known as OZ Management. And, to make things even more interesting, I cross-referenced its holdings against what players in the Fool's CAPS community had to say about the stocks.

Below are five of Och-Ziff's larger holdings that have also been highly rated by CAPS players.

Now before you jump to it and make any hasty moves, remember that we're looking at what Och-Ziff has done in retrospect. For all we know, since its last 13-F filing, the firm has drastically reduced its holdings in any or all of the above stocks. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on a couple of these stocks to kick off further research.

Dissecting DST
One of the top investors on CAPS, StatsGeek, who resides in the rarified air in the top 0.02% of all 32,000 ranked CAPS players, picked DST Systems back in February to outperform the market. Though he thinks that Jim Cramer "makes a complete mockery of investing" with the "Lightning Round" on his TV show, he thinks Cramer is a pretty bright guy and took notice when Cramer recommended DST.

DST is a software and services company that operates in three primary business segments -- financial services, output solutions, and investments. Financial services, the largest segment, provides software and services for record-keeping, accounting, business process management, and the like for a broad swath of customers such as mutual funds, investment managers, and medical practice groups. The financial services segment used to own EquiServe before the company sold the division to Computershare in 2005.

The output solutions segment provides solutions for print and electronic billing, as well as related services such as marketing services and postal optimization solutions. True to its name, the investments segment holds investments in stocks, real estate, and affiliates. The company's largest holdings include State Street (NYSE:STT) and Euronet Worldwide (NASDAQ:EEFT).

Despite his hang-ups about Cramer, StatsGeek heartily agreed on DST. He liked the fact that a competitor of DST's had been acquired at a good-sized premium and that DST owns some valuable stakes in private companies. StatsGeek also cited the company's solid fundamentals -- it has an 18% net income margin and has been sporting consistent double-digit revenue growth.

Along with Och-Ziff, Wellington Management, Iridian Management, and T. Rowe Price all own a 5%-plus stake in DST.

Eager to read more commentary from the CAPS community on these Och-Ziff-owned stocks? Hop on over to CAPS and start interacting with the other 60,000-plus CAPS players. While you're checking out these stocks, you can also find out more about the 4,700 other stocks that are currently rated on CAPS.

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Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. The Fool's disclosure policy invests like a pro, but has been told that it plays ball like a girl. Then again, girls play good ball.