- Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Holdings has gained on its 2019 market beat — at the end of March, it had a net gain of 3.3% while the S&P 500 was down 20%.
- Ackman considered liquidating the portfolio amid the coronavirus-induced meltdown. Instead, he turned $27 million into $2.6 billion using a credit-hedging strategy.
- He reinvested the proceeds into his stock portfolio.
- Here are the 10 stock holdings in Ackman's market-beating portfolio.
- Read more on Business Insider.
Bill Ackman has had quite a year. Following an astonishing 58% return in 2019, he continued to handily beat the market in 2020 even as it was roiled by the coronavirus pandemic.
At the end of the first quarter, which includes the months of January through March, Ackman's Pershing Square Holdings had a net gain of 3.3%, solidly beating the S&P 500's 20% loss during the same period.
It wasn't a totally smooth ride for Ackman. He considered liquidating the portfolio, he told investors in a letter, amid the coronavirus-induced market meltdown. Instead, he decided on a large credit-hedging strategy that turned a $27 million investment into $2.6 billion.
Ackman's hedge — which at its peak amounted to about 40% of the portfolio, he told investors — not only paid off but was well timed. He unwound the hedges by March 23, he said, the very day that the US stock market bottomed.
He then invested the hefty proceeds into his stock holdings, a group of 10 companies that he sees as outstanding.
"We are continuing to look for only the most extraordinary opportunities," Ackman wrote in an April letter to investors. "If our portfolio companies grow in value and their stock prices increase over the long term as we expect, the long-term returns for PSH will be substantially greater than before as a result of the reinvestment of the proceeds from the hedging transactions."
Here are the 10 companies that make up Ackman's stock portfolio, ranked in order from smallest to largest value as of March 31.
Park Hotels and Resorts
Ticker: PK
Shares held: 677,888
Value (as of 3/31/20): $5.4 million
Source: SEC filing
Blackstone Group
Ticker:BX
Shares held: 548,526
Value (as of 3/31/20): $25 million
Source: SEC filing
Howard Hughes Corp.
Ticker: HHC
Shares held: 12,197,389
Value (as of 3/31/20): $612.2 million
Source: SEC filing
Restaurant Brands International
Ticker: QSR
Shares held: 15,084,304
Value (as of 3/31/20): $604 million
Source: SEC filing
Starbucks
Ticker: SBUX
Shares held: 10,131,008
Value (as of 3/31/20): $666 million
Source: SEC filing
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Ticker: CMG
Shares held: 1,161,232
Value (as of 3/31/20): $760 million
Source: SEC filing
Agilent
Ticker:A
Shares held: 12,626,593
Value (as of 3/31/20): $904.3 million
Source: SEC filing
Hilton Worldwide Holdings
Ticker: HLT
Shares held: 13,789,589
Value (as of 3/31/20): $941 million
Source: SEC filing
Berkshire Hathaway
Ticker: BRK.B
Shares held: 5,453,360
Value (as of 3/31/20): $997 million
Source: SEC filing
Lowe's
Ticker: LOW
Shares held: 12,252,414
Value (as of 3/31/20): $1 billion
Source: SEC filing