At Billionairesportfolio.com we run an actively managed online portfolio of the “best ideas” from the world’s best billionaire investors and hedge funds. With that, we pay close attention anytime one of these great investors is making the case for one of their positions, particularly when feel confident enough to call it one of their best ideas. That’s precisely what we got a glimpse of these past two days at an annual fund raising event, the Robin Hood Investment Conference, hosted by billionaire hedge funder Paul Tudor Jones.

Here is a quick recap of their best ideas:

1) David Tepper- Billionaire David Tepper called the Chinese currency extremely overvalued. This view is in line with one he expressed in the past few weeks, arguing for the potential for China’s central bank to ease monetary policy more aggressively than most have thought. An aggressively easing PBOC and weakening of the yuan would be needed fuel for the sluggish Chinese economy, which would bode well for the outlook for Chinese stocks.

2) T. Boone Pickens – Self-made billionaire Boone Pickens told the Robin Hood audience to expect $70 oil by June of next year, which would be almost a double from oil’s price today. Pickens also said he liked the oil stock Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD). To trade Boone Pickens oil call you can buy the oil ETF (USO) or the oil and gas producers ETF (XOP).

3) Bill Ackman- Ackman reiterated his belief that Valeant (VRX) was extremely undervalued and that it should merge with Allergan (AGN) ,because Ackman does not believe the Allergan-Pfizer merger would be approved. Ackman also reiterated his view that Herbalife (HLF) was still a compelling short, with news from the DOJ to possibly come out today on nutritional supplements.

4) Larry Robbins – Billionaire Larry Robbins founder of the hedge fund Glenview Capital, pitched FMC, HCA and MON. Monsanto is Robbin’s second biggest position in his fund at almost $1.2 billion.

5) Dan Loeb – Billionaire Dan Loeb of Third Point said he thought Amgen (AMGN) and Allergan (AGN) should merge. Amgen is Loeb’s second biggest position in his hedge fund, at almost 13% or $1.4 billion.

6) John Paulson – Billionaire John Paulson’s top associate Samantha Greenberg pitched Charter Communications (CHTR). Greenberg said that Charter could be worth as much as $294 over the next year or almost a 60% return
from its share price today.

7) David Einhorn – Billionaire David Einhorn pitched Consol Energy (CNX). Einhorn first took a position in Consol at around $37 last year, today it sells for $7.80. That means if Consol just went back to the price Billionaire David Einhorn paid that would be more than a 350% return.

To see which ideas we follow in our Billionaire’s Portfolio, join us at BillionairesPortfolio.com.

Related: Stocks, Stock Market, Economy, Billionaires, Trump, Markets, Investing, Finance, Commodities

11/6/15

Everyone has read news in the past about a big buyout in the stock market. And often the news will report that the stock in the company that is being acquired skyrocketed on the day. Envy tends to follow.

Generally, companies that are bought, are bought for a significant premium. Otherwise, shareholders would likely reject the offer. So when you hear of a big takeover, it’s not unusual to hear of a 20%,30%, even a 100% pop for shareholders on the day of the announcement.

So how to you identify the next big takeover? One of the easiest ways is to follow big, influential shareholders into stocks where they are pushing companies to sell themselves.

This week, we owned a stock in our Billionaire’s Portfolio, MedAssets (MDAS), that was taken over for a 33% premium. We held this stock for only two months, following the lead of one of our favorite activist investors, Starboard Value.

Starboard is one of the best at articulating recommendations for management and helping them execute on it. We followed Starboard Value into Office Depot and doubled our money. Starboard is run by the Wharton educated Jeff Smith, who is a tenacious and detailed activist investor. He has one of the best activist track records in the business. Since inception almost 13 years ago, Smith’s fund has made money on 82% of their activist campaigns (prior to MDAS). That’s one of the highest win rates in the industry.

Starboard took a huge activist stake in MedAssets in August and wrote a detailed letter to the company, outlining a plan to unlock value, which included strategic alternatives (such as the sale of the company).

Fast foward just two months: MedAssets was the second biggest winner in the entire stock market on Monday.

There has been a lot written about billionaire investing and activism over the past couple of years. It’s become a very hot topic. And the investors themselves, which once coveted anonymity, now utilize the spotlight to their advantage. Twitter, the internet and the media obsession with their wealth gives them the platform to spread their message about underperforming companies, and garner support from fellow shareholders. Still, finding the right investors to follow, and identifying the right opportunities is paramount.

Out of the 29 campaigns we’ve exited in our Billionaire’s Portfolio since the inception of our service, in August of 2012, five of the stocks were acquired.

That’s 17% of the stocks we’ve selected, and exited, that have been taken over for big premiums – so, strong anecdotal evidence that following influential shareholders that are pushing for a sale works!