Q2/2023 13F updates - what stocks have the super investors bought and sold? Buffett, Burry, Gates, Marks & Li Lu (15Aug2023)

News broke on 15 Aug 2023 when Michael Burry of the 2008 Big Short fame was reported to have $1.6B in market value short. These are puts placed on $SPY and $QQQ as per the Twitter post below:

Dataroma is an excellent website that has collected the various 13F filings of some of the top super investors in the world.

What is the 13F?

As per the screenshot above, 13F are mandatory quarterly filings for institutional investment managers with over $100 million worth of securities to the SEC.

I have pulled out some of the highlights of the latest 13F updates of some of my favourite super investors.  For some, I have listed their Q2/2023 portfolio. For some, I have listed their Q2/2023 activities (in terms of buys and sells).
 

Super investor - Mr Michael Burry (The Big Short)

Mr Burry has bought an array of stocks, added to his positions in Cigna, GEO Group, RealReal Inc and has reduced his holdings for Signet Jewellers, Liberty Lilac and New York Community Bancorp. His buys range from travel, healthcare, hospitality, automakers, energy, logistics and a few Japanese ETFs. This left me intrigued as Mr Warren Buffett has been buying into Japanese stocks too. Could Japan be a viable option for investing in this climate?

On the other side, Mr Burry has completed exited his positions in companies like JD.com, BABA and Zoom.  He has also exited an array of banking stocks in big banks like Wells Fargo and regional banks.  Does this imply that he sees a crash coming up that will greatly affect the banking sector?

This is an extract from a news article from TheStreet:

As per the article above, he has bought put options - $886 M against S&P500 and another $739 M against NASDAQ.  This is a move where Mr Burry stands to gain should the market decline within a stipulated time frame.  

Will Bury be right?  Or will Burry be wrong?  Only time will tell.

Super investor - Mr Li Lu

Mr Li Lu is known as the prodigy of Mr Charlie Munger. He has added to his positions in East West Bancorp. This is an interesting move given the volatility in the banking sector. This gets me intrigued about this stock. The price range of EWBC is $41.12 to $57.77. As a famed value investor, we can expect a good margin of safety (MOS) applied to the buying price. While we do not know his exact buying price, we can narrow the fair value with MOS between $41.12 and $57.77. If Li Lu applied a 50% MOS, the fair value of this company is $82.24 and $115.54.

If we are able to qualify the fundamentals of this business, we may be able to buy this business with a good MOS.  Let us research before investing.

Super investor - Mr Mohnish Pabrai

It is to note that Mr Pabrai has sold off all his positions in Micron, Brookfield Corp and Seritage Growth Properties. At the same time, he has bought new positions in Alpha Metallurgical Resources and CONSOL Energy. It can be interesting for us to explore the 2 equities he has bought.

However, people buy for one reason and sell for many. It could be a loss of moat and business fundamentals. But it could also be resource reallocation.

Super investor - Mr Seth Klarman

Mr Seth Klarman has made a few new buys in Dollar General, Amazon, Union Pacific and CRH plc. He has also sold off some of his holds in Liberty Global, Google/Alphabet, QRVO, New Oriental Education & Technology, Theravance Biopharma, Advantage Solutions, Tilogy Metals and French Therapeutics Group.

Seth Klarman is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and author. He is the chief executive and portfolio manager of the Baupost Group, a Boston-based private investment partnership he founded in 1982.

Klarman is a proponent of value investing, which is an investment strategy that seeks to buy undervalued assets that have the potential to appreciate in value over time. He is known for his disciplined approach to investing and his ability to identify undervalued companies.

With his background in value investing, it implies that Dollar General, Amazon, Union Pacific and CRH plc may have reached fair value with good MOS in Q2/2023.

Super investor - Mr Howard Marks

Mr Howard Marks has sold off many stocks in Q2/2023 and reduced some of his holdings.  Amongst his new holdings, there is one stock that has interested me ~ JD.com.  This is a Chinese e-commerce player.  Given the current geopolitical tension between America and China, this is an interesting buy.  It is interesting because Mr Burry sold off his holdings in JD.com.

Super investor - Warren Buffett

Buffett has emptied his positions in McKesson Corp, Marsh & McLennan and Vitesse Energy Inc.  He has also reduced his holdings in Chevron, Celanese, General Motors (sold 60%) and Activision Blizzard (sold 70%).

Super Investor - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust

The Gates Foundation has added their holdings in Berkshire Hathaway and bought new stock - BUD.

Conclusion

I do not encourage us to blindly copy the portfolios of these great investors.  Let us do our due diligence so that we have the conviction necessary for the good and bad times.  Value investors usually purchase stocks priced with a good MOS.  Thus, I use their purchase (in the quarter) to establish a range of "fair value".  From this, I will do my own research (over 5 years of data) before deciding if I know enough to invest.

Some have found success in copying.  However, our deep understanding of the stocks will help us to hold or add when prices go in an unfavourable direction.  Let us spend within our means, avoid leverage and buy great companies at good discounts.