George Soros is an American billionaire and hedge fund manager who founded Soros Fund Management in 1970. As of the end of 2020, the hedge fund had over $5.3 billion in managed securities. The 90-year old billionaire who was born in Hungary and grew up during difficult times of the Nazi occupation has a total worth of over $8 billion. Amid an increasingly hostile environment in his home country, Soros moved to England in 1947 and enrolled in the London School of Economics. During his student life Soros worked as a waiter, railway porter, and sometimes survived on charity.
George Soros' Investment Philosophy and Hedge Fund Returns
Central to the investment philosophy of Soros is the idea that financial markets are chaotic and require quick buy and sell actions. Soros is a short-term speculator and bases his philosophy on macroeconomic analysis. He invests in commodities, stocks, bond, derivatives and other assets, making massive one-way bets based on the theory of reflexivity gives huge importance to feedback loops and human biases in key events and decision-making. The billionaire who is also a student of famous philosopher Karl Popper is also known as "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England,” thanks to his massive short bet on pound sterling which made him a whopping $1 billion in profit during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK currency crisis. In 1997 he made a fortune due to his successful bets on the Asian financial crisis.
But Soros’ hedge fund investing strategy has evolved over time. The firm is now foraying into more futuristic, growth stocks in sectors like biotech, EVs, batteries and space. Bloomberg recently reported that the fund invested $4 billion in real estate markets after the coronavirus outbreak, buying assets for cheap as markets tumbled. Soros has returned almost 30% in the 12-month period ending February 2021.
Soros' portfolio is also full of excellent dividend stocks that have steady and reliable yields. In this article, we will take a look at the best high-yield dividend stocks according to billionaire George Soros.
best high yield dividend stocks according to george soros
George Soros is an exception in a struggling industry. The entire hedge fund industry is feeling the reverberations of the changing financial landscape. Its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 26th 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16th. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.
Let’s start our list of George Soros’ 10 best high-yield dividend stocks.
Value: $3,614,000Percent of George Soros’ 13F Portfolio: 0.06% No. of Shares Owned by Soros: 50,000 No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 32Dividend Yield: 4.12%
Consolidated Edison, also known as Con Edison, is one of the best high-yield dividend stocks to buy according to billionaire investor George Soros. The energy company has increased its dividend in each of the last 45 years. However, Credit Suisse recently cut its rating for Con Edison stock to Underperform and also slashed its price target to $65 from $75, citing a growing bad debt reserve. The firm also said the company’s EPS growth rate is below its peers.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Israel Englander's Millennium Management owns 1.06 million shares of Consolidated Edison worth $76.9 million. ED accounts for 0.05% of Millennium Management's total portfolio.
Value: $5,118,000Percent of George Soros’ 13F Portfolio: 0.09% No. of Shares Owned by Soros: 521,142 No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 28Dividend Yield: 4.43%
Student loan management company Navient Corporation is one of the best high-yield dividend stocks to buy now, based on George Soros’ portfolio. In the fourth quarter, the student loan management company posted an EPS of 97 crushing past the Street’s forecast of 83 cents. Federal Education Loans segment’s net interest income came in at $162 million, compared to $148 million posted in the year-ago quarter.
Our database shows that 28 hedge funds held stakes in Navient Corp. as of the end of the fourth quarter, versus 22 funds in the third quarter.
Value: $1,531,000Percent of George Soros’ 13F Portfolio: 0.02% No. of Shares Owned by Soros: 50,000 No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 50Dividend Yield: 4.48%
Electricity transmission company FirstEnergy ranks 8th in the list of the best high-yield dividend stocks to buy now as George Soros owns a $1.5 million stake in the company. The stock has lost 21% in value amid the company’s alleged involvement in the Ohio Nuclear bribery scandal, according to which the speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives and several others allegedly accepted $60 million in bribes from the company in exchange for $1.3 billion worth of benefits in the form of Ohio House Bill. In March, the company said it reached an agreement with activist investor Carl Icahn to add two board members nominated by the billionaire’s hedge fund to its board.
The company is also getting the attention of the smart money, as 50 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in the company at the end of the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisors is the biggest stakeholder in the company, with 4.7 million shares, worth $144.2 million.
Value: $77,559,000Percent of George Soros’ 13F Portfolio: 1.16% No. of Shares Owned by Soros: 3,041,540 No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 38Dividend Yield: 4.55%
Real estate investment trust VICI Properties is one of the best high-yield dividend stocks to buy now, based on billionaire George Soros’ Q4 portfolio. The company has increased its dividend for the last three straight years. The stock has gained about 70% in value over the last 12 months. The company proved its resilience during the coronavirus crisis despite its huge exposure to travel, entertainment, casinos and hotels. In 2020, the company was able to collect 100% of its rents. It recently bought the real estate assets of Venetian Resort for $4 billion to increase its presence in Las Vegas.
As of the end of the fourth quarter, there were 38 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database that held stakes in VICI, compared to 40 funds in the third quarter. AEW Capital Management, with 4.2 million shares of VICI, is the biggest stakeholder in the company.
Value: $15,178,000Percent of George Soros’ 13F Portfolio: 0.29% No. of Shares Owned by Soros: 263,000 No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 63Dividend Yield: 5.05%
Major casino operator and gaming company Las Vegas Sands is one of the best high-yield dividend stocks to buy now. George Soros owns a $15.18 million stake in the company. The stock in March touched its 52-week high after the company sold its Las Vegas properties for over $6 billion. CFRA Research said the move would help the company focus on its operations in Macao and Singapore gaming markets. CFRA upped its price target for the stock to $74.
Gabriel Plotkin's Melvin Capital Management is one of the 63 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey having stakes in LVS at the end of the fourth quarter. The fund owns over 10.6 million shares of the company.
