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Petroleumworld.com – The hedge fund of billionaire investor George Soros increased its stake in Brazilian state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro ( Petrobras) to 21.1 million American Depositary Receipts as of Sept. 30 from 11.5 million at June 30.
Soros Fund Management LLC made the move as the ADRs tumbled during the quarter to about $44 from about $71 each. Although the fund added nearly 10 million ADRs to its Petrobras stake, the value of the holding only rose to $930.7 million from $811.5 million.
Since the end of the quarter, Petrobras ADRs have fallen further, closing on Friday at $21.45.
Houston Chronicle – Boone Pickens, the billionaire founder of BP Capital LLC, said 15 percent of his hedge funds’ holders have asked for the option to withdraw their money after he lost more than $1 billion in energy trades this year.
Pickens, who manages funds linked to energy commodities and equities, said his equity fund has taken a "real hit" as oil company stocks and oil prices have plummeted.
"I feel like all my fingers are mashed in the door right now," Pickens, 80, said on CNBC today. "I’m trying to get someone to open the door for me."
The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Pickens was having his worst performance in 10 years, with his funds losing about $1 billion.
"It’s more than that now," Pickens said.
Pickens said his funds require a 90-day notice to withdraw money, "so if we can recover in the fourth quarter," people might reconsider exiting.
Bloomberg – Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., the world’s largest producer of the crop nutrient, were added to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s list of the most popular stocks among hedge fund managers.
The addition of the companies to the so-called VIP list, which includes the 50 stocks that are the most common holdings in hedge fund portfolios, is a sign of “strong interest in non- U.S. markets by U.S.-based hedge funds,” strategist David Kostin wrote in note to clients.
The VIP has outperformed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index during the past 12 months, falling 6 percent as the S&P 500 lost 9.2 percent. It is the first time Petrobras, as the Brazil company is known, or Potash Corp. appeared in the index.
Petrobras’ American depositary receipts rose to an all-time high in May, spurred by record oil prices and investor interest in the offshore Tupi oil field, which the company said in November may hold 8 billion barrels of crude.
