Big money managers have turned their investments to banks in the second quarter, according to a Reuters report:
Eton Park's [Eric] Mindich said he owned 5.1 million shares of Morgan Stanley and had the right to acquire another 21.5 million shares at an undisclosed price. At the end of the first quarter, he owned 15 million shares.
Mindich also made changes in his Citigroup holding in which he owned 5.5 million shares at the end of the first quarter and said he had the right to acquire 12.7 million shares at an undisclosed price at the end of second quarter. …
Noted short seller Jim Chanos, founder of Kynikos Associates Ltd, also added 231,800 shares of JPMorgan, bringing his stake to 323,400 shares, while adding 279,000 shares of Citigroup.
And Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway added yet again to its sizeable position in Wells Fargo & Co, a 4 percent boost to some 411 million shares in Buffett's favorite bank.
Mindich is a notable Obama donor, and Chanos has pledged to bundle $500,000 for the president’s 2012 presidential campaign.
The Reuters report also mentions the activity of Tom Steyer, head of Farallon Capital and board member of the Center for American Progress, and George Soros, billionaire Obama donor:
George Soros' family office, Soros Funds Management, opened a new position in Wal-Mart Stores Inc, buying 4,831,800 shares. Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management also no longer lists Family Dollar Stores Inc, the pick he highlighted in 2011 at the Ira Sohn Investment conference.
Tom Steyer's Farallon Capital made a big adjustment to its holding of gas pipeline company Kinder Morgan Inc. In the first quarter it held 22.5 million shares, but at the end of the second quarter it owned 4 million shares and had warrants to acquire an additional 5.2 million shares.