Even as President Obama cracks down on coal-fired power plants and left-wing groups pressure institutional divestment from fossil fuels, liberal financier George Soros has announced new investments in two large coal companies.
SNL Financial reported on Friday that Soros’ investment fund informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that it purchased stakes in Peabody Energy and Arch Coal this year.
Soros acquired more than 1 million shares of Peabody and 553,200 shares of Arch in the second quarter, according to the filing. He reported no other coal holdings in the period.
Soros makes investments through his Soros Fund Management LLC fund. Soros' holdings may have changed significantly since the end of the second quarter ended June 30.
Soros last invested in the coal sector in 2014 when he opened a large stake in coal and gas producer CONSOL Energy Inc., but he later liquidated it.
His firm, Soros Fund Management, currently has stakes in a number of oil and natural gas companies, including Chesapeake Energy, VAALCO Energy, and the Newfield Exploration Company, according to its most recent SEC filing.