*Social Justice*
2017-01-22 04:02:12 UTC
Billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros lost nearly $1
billion as a result of the stock-market rally spurred by Donald
Trump's surprise presidential election.
But Stanley Druckenmiller, Mr. Soros's former deputy who helped
Mr. Soros score $1 billion of profits betting against the
British pound in 1992, anticipated the market's recent climb and
racked up sizable gains, according to people close to the matter.
The divergent bets of the two traders are a stark reminder of
the challenges even acclaimed investors have faced following Mr.
Trump's unexpected victory. Many experts had predicted a tumble
for stocks in the wake of the election, but instead the Dow
Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.3%.
Last year, Mr. Soros returned to trading at Soros Fund
Management LLC, which manages about $30 billion for Mr. Soros
and his family. Mr. Soros was lured back by the opportunities to
profit from what he saw as coming economic troubles.
Mr. Soros was cautious about the market going into November and
became more bearish immediately after Mr. Trump's election,
according to people close to the matter. The stance proved a
mistake -- the stock market has rallied on expectations that Mr.
Trump's policies will boost corporate earnings and the overall
economy.
As a result, some of Mr. Soros's trading positions incurred
losses approaching $1 billion, the people say. Mr. Soros
adjusted his positions and exited many of his bearish bets late
last year, avoiding further losses, the people added.
The broader portfolio held by Mr. Soros's firm performed better,
posting profits before and after the election from long-held
investments in sectors including financials and industrials,
according to people familiar with the firm. Those gains helped
Soros Fund Management gain about 5% on the year.
Mr. Soros, chairman of the firm, continues to trade a portion of
Soros Fund's cash and his positions often are quite volatile,
the people said. The firm is currently interviewing candidates
for a vacant chief investment officer position. Some close to
the firm say Mr. Soros could play a reduced trading role when
someone is hired to fill the role. In recent years, the 86-year-
old billionaire has focused on public policy and philanthropy.
He was a large contributor to the super PAC backing Democratic
presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and has donated to other
groups supporting Democrats.
Mr. Druckenmiller, who left Mr. Soros's firm in 2000 and now
invests his own money, took a very different stance on the
presidential election.
Days before the election, Mr. Druckenmiller predicted to an
investor that if Mrs. Clinton emerged victorious the stock
market likely would rally initially but then would fall. Mr.
Druckenmiller said if Mr. Trump won the election, the opposite
result likely would occur -- stocks first would tumble and then
soar.
Mr. Druckenmiller's call was prescient.
Stock futures fell sharply on the evening of Mr. Trump's
victory, but the market has since surged. Mr. Druckenmiller has
publicly said on television that he exited bearish positions on
the night of the election, for example, selling long-held gold.
He also became bullish on certain sectors of the stock market,
and said he was shorting bonds globally and expected the dollar
to rally against the euro.
These trades have paid off as Mr. Druckenmiller's firm, Duquesne
Family Office LLC, scored gains of more than 10% in 2016, the
people say. As a private office, the firm doesn't have to
disclose its assets under management.
Mr. Druckenmiller also was politically active during the
campaign, donating to Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Overall, Mr.
Druckenmiller gave about $3.5 million to Republican candidates,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics, while Mr. Soros
gave more than $20 million to Democratic candidates during the
2016 election cycle.
In October, Mr. Druckenmiller told Reuters that he backed
Republican candidates for Congress in the hope of creating a
"firewall" against Mrs. Clinton's likely economic policies,
including more government control of health care. He also said
Mr. Trump had an "unstable personality," and Mr. Druckenmiller
added that he might not vote in the presidential election.
Write to Gregory Zuckerman at ***@wsj.com and
Juliet Chung at ***@wsj.com
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/12/soros-lost-nearly-
1-billion-in-weeks-after-trump-election.html
billion as a result of the stock-market rally spurred by Donald
Trump's surprise presidential election.
But Stanley Druckenmiller, Mr. Soros's former deputy who helped
Mr. Soros score $1 billion of profits betting against the
British pound in 1992, anticipated the market's recent climb and
racked up sizable gains, according to people close to the matter.
The divergent bets of the two traders are a stark reminder of
the challenges even acclaimed investors have faced following Mr.
Trump's unexpected victory. Many experts had predicted a tumble
for stocks in the wake of the election, but instead the Dow
Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.3%.
Last year, Mr. Soros returned to trading at Soros Fund
Management LLC, which manages about $30 billion for Mr. Soros
and his family. Mr. Soros was lured back by the opportunities to
profit from what he saw as coming economic troubles.
Mr. Soros was cautious about the market going into November and
became more bearish immediately after Mr. Trump's election,
according to people close to the matter. The stance proved a
mistake -- the stock market has rallied on expectations that Mr.
Trump's policies will boost corporate earnings and the overall
economy.
As a result, some of Mr. Soros's trading positions incurred
losses approaching $1 billion, the people say. Mr. Soros
adjusted his positions and exited many of his bearish bets late
last year, avoiding further losses, the people added.
The broader portfolio held by Mr. Soros's firm performed better,
posting profits before and after the election from long-held
investments in sectors including financials and industrials,
according to people familiar with the firm. Those gains helped
Soros Fund Management gain about 5% on the year.
Mr. Soros, chairman of the firm, continues to trade a portion of
Soros Fund's cash and his positions often are quite volatile,
the people said. The firm is currently interviewing candidates
for a vacant chief investment officer position. Some close to
the firm say Mr. Soros could play a reduced trading role when
someone is hired to fill the role. In recent years, the 86-year-
old billionaire has focused on public policy and philanthropy.
He was a large contributor to the super PAC backing Democratic
presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and has donated to other
groups supporting Democrats.
Mr. Druckenmiller, who left Mr. Soros's firm in 2000 and now
invests his own money, took a very different stance on the
presidential election.
Days before the election, Mr. Druckenmiller predicted to an
investor that if Mrs. Clinton emerged victorious the stock
market likely would rally initially but then would fall. Mr.
Druckenmiller said if Mr. Trump won the election, the opposite
result likely would occur -- stocks first would tumble and then
soar.
Mr. Druckenmiller's call was prescient.
Stock futures fell sharply on the evening of Mr. Trump's
victory, but the market has since surged. Mr. Druckenmiller has
publicly said on television that he exited bearish positions on
the night of the election, for example, selling long-held gold.
He also became bullish on certain sectors of the stock market,
and said he was shorting bonds globally and expected the dollar
to rally against the euro.
These trades have paid off as Mr. Druckenmiller's firm, Duquesne
Family Office LLC, scored gains of more than 10% in 2016, the
people say. As a private office, the firm doesn't have to
disclose its assets under management.
Mr. Druckenmiller also was politically active during the
campaign, donating to Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Overall, Mr.
Druckenmiller gave about $3.5 million to Republican candidates,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics, while Mr. Soros
gave more than $20 million to Democratic candidates during the
2016 election cycle.
In October, Mr. Druckenmiller told Reuters that he backed
Republican candidates for Congress in the hope of creating a
"firewall" against Mrs. Clinton's likely economic policies,
including more government control of health care. He also said
Mr. Trump had an "unstable personality," and Mr. Druckenmiller
added that he might not vote in the presidential election.
Write to Gregory Zuckerman at ***@wsj.com and
Juliet Chung at ***@wsj.com
http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/12/soros-lost-nearly-
1-billion-in-weeks-after-trump-election.html