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 investing giant Daniel Loeb, founder of the Third Point LLC hedge fund. Loeb is a well-known activist investor, famous for publicly airing his opinions about companies in which he invests and not mincing words when he's displeased.
His activity bears watching, because the guy seems to know a thing or two about investing. According to the folks at GuruFocus.com, over the 15 years ending in 2010, Loeb racked up a cumulative gain of 1,519%, compared with just 170% for the S&P 500.
Third Point's stock portfolio totaled $2.5 billion in value as of Dec. 31, 2011, with 40 holdings.
Interesting developments
So what does Third Point's latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:
New holdings include semiconductor company Skyworks Solutions
One of Third Point's holdings makes up a whopping 36% of its total asset value. That's Yahoo!
Third Point reduced its stake in solid-state memory specialist SanDisk
Finally, Third Point unloaded several companies, such as Mosaic
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. 13F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.
If you're interested in companies such as Skyworks Solutions and would like to ride the coattails of the dynamic and profitable new digital age, check out our special free report, "3 Hidden Winners of the iPhone, iPad, and Android Revolution." You'll learn about some other companies positioned to prosper.