U.K.-based hedge fund Lansdowne Partners has reopened its short position in British life insurer Prudential Plc (PUK). The hedge fund’s bet represents -0.32% of Prudential’s outstanding stock, approximately £47 million worth. This is not the first time Landsdowne has been short Prudential as it previously had a larger short position in this name back in December. Prudential Plc is expected to disclose details of its $20 billion capital raise to finance a $35.5 billion acquisition of AIA, the Asian insurance division of AIG (AIG).
Please keep in mind that the company referenced above (U.K.-based Prudential) has no ownership link with Prudential of America, a company the majority of you will be familiar with that trades under the ticker PRU on the NYSE. Make sure you don’t confuse them.
Lansdowne found success on the short side of its portfolio during the financial crisis as it profited off its shorts in Northern Rock and Barclays (BCS). But then again, almost all hedge funds had some sort of success with their shorts back then. For more details on on the disclosure rules for long and short holdings in U.K. companies see our U.K. primer here.
Lansdowne of course has constantly been rated as one of the top hedge funds in London and it specializes in long/short stockpicking (although it also employs other strategies as well). Its U.K. Equity fund was up 8.28% through the end of March as noted in our first quarter hedge fund performance numbers. Late last year we saw that Landsdowne’s flagship fund has returned 19.37% annualized since 2001 when we took a look at Lansdowne’s portfolio and saw it favored large caps in developed countries.
Taken from Google Finance:
Prudential is “a financial services company. The Company has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Through its subsidiaries, it offers products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services.”
Original article
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