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 Whitney Tilson (a former Fool writer) and Glenn Tongue, who founded T2 Partners in 2004. Tilson has been dubbed "the best investor you never heard of" and is known for his contrarianism, his dedication to value investing, and his respect for Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
Why should you care about T2 Partners' moves? Well, because while its performance has been volatile, its managers have posted some strong numbers in the past, and if you believe in the power of contrarian plays and value investing, you can see they stand a good chance of doing so again. In their year-end letter to investors for 2011, Tilson and Tongue note that their total return since inception (in 1999) has been 114% -- vs. just 29% for the S&P 500.
In its SEC filing, T2 said its stock portfolio was worth about $296 million as of December 31, 2011. The fund's top holdings, representing about 16% of the total portfolio value, were Berkshire Hathaway, Dell, and Howard Hughes.
Interesting developments
So what does T2's latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:
For starters, there are no new holdings.
Among holdings in which T2 increased its stake were Apple
T2 reduced its stake in various companies, including Cisco Systems
Finally, T2 unloaded several companies, such as Chimera Investment
We should never blindly copy any investor's moves, no matter how talented that investor. But it can be useful to keep an eye on what smart folks are doing. Those 13F forms can be great places to find intriguing candidates for our portfolios.
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