Billionaire Seth Klarman cuts Amazon
In the third quarter of 2023, Billionaire Seth Klarman’s Baupost Group sold his entire stake in Amazon but bought shares in four other companies.
American billionaire investor Seth Klarman is widely regarded as one of the world’s most successful and respected fund managers.
With a career spanning over three decades, Klarman has built a reputation as a disciplined and value-driven investor.
He is known for his rigorous research process, long-term investment horizon, and focus on risk management.
Born in 1957, Klarman attended Cornell University and later Harvard Business School, where he studied under legendary value investor Benjamin Graham.
After graduating, he worked briefly for Mutual Shares before founding his own investment firm, The Baupost Group, in 1982.
Over the years, Baupost has grown into one of the world’s largest and most successful hedge funds, with over $30 billion in assets under management.
Despite his remarkable track record, Klarman remains relatively unknown outside investment circles. He eschews publicity and rarely grants interviews.
Klarman’s investment philosophy is rooted in the teachings of Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing.
He believes that a margin of safety is essential for any investment and that it is possible to find undervalued securities in any market environment.
Klarman is also known for his long-term approach to investing, often holding positions for several years and waiting for the market to recognise the underlying value of his investments.
This approach has paid off in spades for Klarman and his investors. Since the founding of The Baupost Group in 1982, the firm has achieved an annualised return of 19%.
The firm’s success has been driven by Klarman’s ability to identify opportunities where others see risk and his willingness to hold positions for extended periods.
The Baupost Group’s portfolio
In the third quarter of 2023, Klarman added shares in four new companies to the Baupost Group portfolio – Clarivate, Tower Semiconductor, Jacobs Solutions, and Liberty Media Corp.
Baupost sold its entire stake in Amazon and Union Pacific, both of which the company bought in the previous quarter.
It initially sold its stake in Amazon in Q1 2023 but bought around $125.66 million of the tech giant’s shares in Q2.
The company also further reduced its stake in Google-owner Alphabet by 7%, but it still comprises almost 10% of Baupost’s portfolio.
Baupost reduced its stake in nine other companies during the three months through September 2023.
The company added to its stake in four companies. Notably, Baupost added 5,816.81% to its stake in CRH Plc, a building material company the firm bought in Q2 2023.
These movements brought Baupost’s portfolio to a value of $5.14 billion with 31 holdings.
The table below shows how the Baupost Group portfolio changed in Q3 2023 –
| Stock | % of portfolio | Activity | Value |
| LBTYK – Liberty Global Inc. C | 15.27 | Reduce 5.98% | $785,292,000 |
| VRTV – Veritiv Corp. | 10.92 | No change | $561,478,000 |
| GOOG – Alphabet Inc. CL C | 9.82 | Reduce 7% | $505,188,000 |
| FIS – Fidelity National Information Services | 7.48 | Add 2.73% | $384,691,000 |
| LSXMK – Liberty SiriusXM Series C | 7.35 | No change | $378,108,000 |
| WTW – Willis Towers Watson plc | 6.32 | Add 72.40% | $325,072,000 |
| VSAT – Viasat Inc. | 5.81 | Reduce 0.70% | $298,588,000 |
| WBD – Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. | 5.33 | No change | $274,053,000 |
| LSXMA – Liberty Sirius XM Series A | 4.05 | No change | $208,121,000 |
| CRH – CRH plc | 3.56 | Add 5,816.81% | $183,102,000 |
| CLVT – Clarivate Plc | 2.94 | Buy | $150,975,000 |
| LBTYA – Liberty Global Inc. | 2.39 | No change | $123,166,000 |
| SSNC – SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc. | 2.35 | Reduce 38.22% | $120,770,000 |
| DG – Dollar General | 1.91 | Add 283.06% | $98,077,000 |
| QRVO – Qorvo Inc. | 1.74 | Reduce 64.26% | $89,323,000 |
| JAZZ – Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc | 1.70 | No change | $87,203,000 |
| TSEM – Tower Semiconductor Ltd. | 1.36 | Buy | $69,996,000 |
| J – Jacobs Solutions Inc. | 1.29 | Buy | $66,583,00 |
| TBPH – Theravance Biopharma Inc. | 1.24 | No change | $64,028,000 |
| LLYVA – Liberty Media Corp. Series A Live | 1.23 | Buy | $63,175,000 |
| LLYVK – Liberty Media Corp. Series C Live | 1.19 | Buy | $61,069,000 |
| EDU – New Oriental Education & Technology | 1.16 | Reduce 75.16% | $59,913,000 |
| GTX – Garrett Motion Inc. | 0.92 | Reduce 77.03% | $47,180,000 |
| STX – Seagate Technology | 0.77 | No change | $39,570,000 |
| GTN – Gray Television Inc. | 0.51 | No change | $26,019,000 |
| HLF – Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. | 0.46 | Reduce 13.35% | $23,690,000 |
| ADV – Advantage Solutions Inc. | 0.34 | Reduce 42.22% | $17,477,000 |
| ATUS – Altice USA, Inc. | 0.30 | No change | $15,613,000 |
| ATRA – Atara Biotherapeutics Inc. | 0.28 | No change | $14,465,000 |
| TMQ – Trilogy Metals Inc. | 0.02 | Reduce 31.63% | $1,141,000 |
| FNCH – Finch Therapeutics Group Inc. | 0.01 | No change | $574,000 |
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