Super Investor Portfolio Updates: Buffett, Ackman, and More

Every three months, we get insight into what the world's greatest investors are doing with their portfolios through 13F filings. This article examines the latest trades and portfolio updates from 11 super investors, including Warren Buffett, Bill Ackman, Terry Smith, and more.

Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway continues to play the long game, building positions to last. Some key points from Buffett's latest trades:

• Reduced Apple stake by another 25%, likely due to its high valuation
• Sold 22% of Bank of America position
• Completely exited Ulta Beauty position
• New small positions in Domino's Pizza and Pool Corp
• Raising significant cash, with $320 billion on hand

Buffett appears to be in defensive mode, selling overvalued positions and hoarding cash. He's not buying into market hysteria and seems prepared for a potential downturn.

Bill Ackman

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital has had strong performance, beating most hedge funds over the past 20 years. Recent notable trades include:

• Large new position in Brookfield Corp (BN)
• Increased stake in Nike significantly
• Google remains a top holding when A and C shares are combined

Ackman seems to be making calculated bets on quality companies at reasonable valuations.

Terry Smith

Terry Smith manages over $25 billion but has made some missteps recently with poorly timed sales. His latest moves include:

• Selling most of his McCormick position
• Maintaining a very diversified portfolio of 40 positions
• Top holdings include Microsoft and Meta

Smith's strategy appears focused on capital preservation and stable growth.

Dev Kanaria

Dev Kanaria has grown his portfolio to $4.5 billion with spectacular market-beating returns. Key points:

• Fair Isaac (FICO) remains his largest position at 35% of the portfolio
• Slightly trimming FICO after massive gains
• Doubled position in ASML
• Increased stakes in Moody's and S&P Global

Kanaria makes concentrated bets on companies he deeply understands.

Josh Tarasoff

Josh Tarasoff manages a smaller $300 million portfolio but with high concentration. Recent activity:

• Sold portions of Brookfield Corp, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla
• No new buys last quarter
• Selling likely to meet investor redemptions

Tarasoff's frequent trading and lack of clear strategy is concerning.

Pat Dorsey

Pat Dorsey, known for developing Morningstar's moat analysis, now manages $1 billion. Notable trades:

• Large new position in Appian (APPN)
• Sold out of Smartsheet
• Trimmed Semrush position

Dorsey's strategy has improved recently after some poor trades in prior years.

Polen Capital Management

Polen Capital manages $38 billion with a team approach. Key moves:

• Sold entire Salesforce position
• Bought more Apple and Oracle
• Small trims to Microsoft, Nike, Amazon, and Google

While some trades are questionable, Polen maintains a strong list of quality companies.

Chris Hohn

Chris Hohn's TCI Fund manages $44 billion and is consistently a top-performing hedge fund. Portfolio highlights:

• Only 10 holdings of high-quality companies
• Largest position is General Electric
• Other top holdings include Moody's, S&P Global, Microsoft, and Canadian Pacific

Hohn makes very few trades, focusing on long-term holding of monopolistic businesses.

Michael Burry

Michael Burry of "The Big Short" fame is making a big bet on China:

• Significantly increased positions in JD.com, Alibaba, and BYD
• Added to Shift4 Payments stake
• Uses options strategies not visible in 13F filings

Burry's contrarian China bet carries significant risks but potentially high rewards.

Altarock Partners

Mark Massey's Altarock Partners manages $5 billion in just 9 positions. Recent trades:

• Added 30% to Amazon position
• Sold 37% of Visa stake
• More than doubled MasterCard position

Altarock maintains a concentrated portfolio of extremely high-quality companies.

Chuck Akre's Team

Chuck Akre has retired, but his team continues to manage $12 billion. Notable activity:

• Continued selling of Moody's position
• Increased stake in Airbnb
• Top holdings include MasterCard, KKR, and American Tower

The team is deviating from Akre's long-term buy-and-hold approach in some cases.

Common Themes

Some patterns emerge across these super investors:

1. Disciplined, conservative buying in an expensive market
2. Holding existing positions rather than active trading
3. Google appearing in many portfolios as a quality company at a reasonable valuation
4. Defensive posturing, with some raising cash levels

Overall, these top investors are being cautious in the current market environment while still finding select opportunities in high-quality businesses.

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