Fiscal 2020 has turned out to be one the best years for billionaire Izzy Englander's Millennium Management since 2000 as the multi-strategy hedge fund gained 23.3% through Dec. 17. Izzy Englander's hedge fund also outperformed the broader market growth of 15%.
After closing several pods early this year amid a pandemic-related market meltdown in March, the hedge fund added 70 team members during the second half of the year, in line with its strategy of diversifying the asset classes and investment geography. The reports are suggesting half of the new team members are based outside of the United States.
Billionaire Izzy Englander is a hedge fund manager, philanthropist, and co-founder and chief executive officer of Millennium Management. The market value of Englander’s Millennium Management 13F portfolio hit $81 billion at the end of September, the latest available data. In 1989, Billionaire Izzy Englander along with Ronald Shear founded Millennium Management with $35 million in the capital.
Izzy Englander of MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT
Israel Englander of Millennium Management
Izzy Englander's personal net worth of around $7.2 billion makes him the 74th-richest person in the United States. He was the 7th-highest-earning hedge fund manager in 2019. Although he started trading stocks when he was studying in high school, Izzy Englander began his stock trading career at investment firm Oppenheimer.
Millennium Management has been investing money in equities and fixed income markets with a focus on liquid asset classes. The New York-based hedge fund seeks to diversify its investments to minimize risk and increase returns.
Englander's hedge fund has also been employing a multi-manager strategy, providing capital to those who perform well. Its teams focus on various strategies and opportunities while the executive team and risk management teams oversee those allocations.
The New York-based hedge fund has been making several changes in its portfolio to make gains from price movement. The firm has sold out 726 stocks in the third quarter while it has reduced its position in 1793 stocks. On the flip side, Millennium Management bought 998 stocks and added to 1499 existing positions. In this article we are going to talk about Millennium's 10 largest positions which are more likely to be long-term positions.
While billionaire Izzy Englander's reputation remains intact, the same can’t be said of the hedge fund industry as a whole, as 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 returned 158% and outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 88 percentage points since March 2017 (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 16. 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.
Considering the robust track record and impressive performance in 2020, we decided to present billionaire Izzy Englander's 10 favorite stocks heading into 2021.
Packaged foods and meats firm The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) has gained billionaire Izzy Englander’s confidence as Millennium Management increased its position in Hershey by 214% in the latest quarter. Hershey accounts for 0.27% of the overall portfolio compared to 0.09% in the latest quarter.
Shares of Hershey Company underperformed in 2020. However, the market analysts call it the best long term play. The company offers a quarterly dividend of $0.80 per share, yielding above 2.10%. The company has raised dividends in the last eleven consecutive years.
"We are continuing to focus on executing with excellence, investing in the business, and advancing our strategic priorities to deliver a strong fourth quarter and position us well for 2021," Michele Buck, The Hershey Company President, and Chief Executive Officer said.
Life sciences tools and services company QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN) is one of the favorite stocks of billionaire Izzy Englander. The firm has raised its stake in QIAGEN by 142% in the latest quarter to 0.29% of the overall portfolio, up from 0.11% in the previous quarter. The firm currently holds 4.5 million shares of life sciences tools and services company valued at $238 million.
It appears that Millennium Management benefited from its QIAGEN stake. Shares of QIAGEN rallied 8% in the last month alone, extending the twelve months gains to 55%.
The share price gains are backed by a robust financial outlook. The company expects fourth-quarter sales growth in the range of least 32% at CER, while adjusted earnings per share is likely to stand around $0.64-0.65 CER. For the full year, net sales are expected to 22% CER, with the forecast of similar growth in 2021.
The world's largest electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is among the stocks billionaire Izzy Englander like the most heading into 2021. The hedge fund substantially raised its stake by 258% in Tesla during the third quarter of 2020. Tesla now accounts for 0.30% of the overall portfolio, up from 0.05% in the previous quarter.
Shares of Tesla rose 13% in the last month alone, accelerating twelve months gains to 671%.
The hedge funds are bullish on Tesla. TSLA was in 67 hedge funds’portfolio at the end of September, up from the previous all-time high of 63.
Baron Partners Fund, which returned around 47% in the latest quarter, looks confident about the future fundamentals of the electric vehicle maker. Here is what Baron Partners Fund stated about Tesla in an investorsletter:
“Tesla, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells fully electric vehicles, solar products, and energy storage solutions. The stock rose on strong second quarter results, including profitability that beat analyst forecasts and solid growth in existing and new programs across different geographies and vehicles. In addition, Tesla presented a grand vision around its battery research aimed at expanding its competitive advantage and market opportunity. We remain confident that Tesla will leverage its market trend and technology leadership to achieve sustainable long-term growth.”
The biopharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) has been enjoying the confidence of billionaire Izzy Englander over the years. The hedge fund first initiated a stake in BMY in 2006. The firm raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 47% in the latest quarter to 0.32% of the overall portfolio.
BMY is one of the best stocks to buy and hold in 2021 because of steady share price growth potential along with hefty cash returns through dividends. The company offers a dividend yield of 3.20%.
Generation PMCA highlighted a few stocks in an investor’s letter and Bristol Myers Squibb is one of them. Here is what Generation PMCAstated:
“Bristol Myers Squibb is a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on oncology, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and fibrosis. The market has been overly concerned with the loss of exclusivity of Revlimid in 2 years and Eliquis in 5 years. We believe the company has the ability to offset these patent expirations via M&A (it recently announced the acquisition of MyoKardia) and its compelling pipeline, including TYK-2, Opvido, Ozanimod, and Zeposia. To account for the risks associated with drug development and M&A, our valuation models assume zero growth after the next 5 years. The company has a 2.9% dividend yield and our FMV is $75.”
6. Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WLTW)
The insurance broker Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WLTW) is one of billionaire Izzy Englander's favorite stocks heading into 2021. The hedge fund raised its position in Willis Towers by 30% in the latest quarter. It now represents 0.32% of the overall portfolio valued at $262 million.
Shares of Willis Towers Watson underperformed this year compared to the broader market index due to pandemic related challenges. However, the company has rewarded investors with big dividends. The company has recently raised its quarterly dividend by 4.4% to $0.71 per share.
