tokenist.com
Legendary fund manager Michael Burry’s hedge fund dumped all of his stock holdings in the second quarter and ended the three-month period with just one position. Scion Asset Management, the investor’s hedge fund, closed positions in tech giants such as Alphabet and Meta Platforms while adding the private prison and mental health facilities operator Geo Group to his portfolio in the second quarter, as per statutory filings.
Burry Ditches Meta and Alphabet Holdings
Scion Asset Management, the hedge fund founded and led by the “Big Short” investor Michael J. Burry, exited its positions in 11 U.S. stocks including tech behemoths Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta Platforms. Burry ended the second quarter surprisingly with just one stock holding, Geo Group, a U.S. operator of prison and mental health facilities.
According to a regulatory filing, as of June 30, the hedge fund held 501,360 shares of Geo Group, which saw a sharp jump of over 10% Monday. Scion Asset Management ended the first quarter with $165 million worth of U.S. equities, the filings show. However, it is important to note that the filings refer to the end of the first quarter and do not indicate the fund’s current positions in the stock market.
Among dumped equities are Burry’s stake in Meta Platforms which was worth nearly $13 million at the end of the first quarter, as well as $19.7 million and $23.1 million stakes in Cigna Corp and Bristol-Myers Squibb, respectively. The moves come after Burry’s recent tweet where he said the recent rally in the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index is likely to reverse.
“Can’t shake that silly pre-Enron, pre-9/11, pre-WorldCom feeling,”
– Michael Burry, referring to three events that led to a 75% decline in the Nasdaq between February 2000 and September 2002.
Michael Burry’s Cult Status as an Investor
In addition to being the founder and CEO of Scion Asset Management, Michael Burry is best known for being one of the first investors to anticipate the subprime mortgage crisis prior to the 2008 financial crisis. Burry reportedly made a personal profit of $100 million from his bets against mortgages and over $700 million for his remaining investors.
Burry quickly rose to fame and now has more than 1 million followers on Twitter, where he sometimes voices his opinions and concerns over the state of the economy. Last week, Burry issued warnings of “winter coming” for the U.S. economy due to a sharp jump in consumer debt that could weigh on spending and cause a recession.
Earlier this month, the latest consumer price index (CPI) print showed that U.S. inflation eased to 8.5% in July, after hitting a new record high of 9.1% in June. The drop in CPI came after the Federal Reserve’s two consecutive 75 basis points interest rate hikes in July and June.