Sunday, May 17, 2009

Follow the money..........Paulsen & Co. goes all in

Two years ago he made billions shorting the real estate market. Now he will make billions in the gold and gold equities market. The 13-F filed Friday is incredibly bullish for the precious metals. The bloomberg article highlights just some of his purchases.


Paulson’s Hedge Fund Bought Gold Stock, Miners in First Quarter


By Katherine Burton

May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Paulson & Co., the hedge-fund firm run by billionaire John Paulson, increased its investment in gold and gold-mining shares in the first quarter, according to a regulatory filing.

As of the end of the first quarter, Paulson was the largest holder of SPDR Gold Trust, an investment fund that buys gold bullion. The New York-based firm owned 8.7 percent of the fund, valued at $2.8 billion as of March 31, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

That position was established as a hedge, the company said in a statement, because its funds have a share class that is denominated in gold rather than in dollars or euros.

Paulson bought or added to several gold companies in the quarter as well. He purchased a 15 percent stake in Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, a fund that mirrors the move in the Amex Gold Miners Index. That stake was worth $638 million at the end of the quarter.

Paulson also bought a 2.6 percent of Gold Fields Ltd., becoming the fourth-largest holder of the Johannesburg-based gold miner.

The investment firm, which manages $26 billion, also bought an additional 2.4 million shares of Kinross Gold Corp. Paulson owned 4.4 percent of the Toronto-based gold producer and was its third-largest holder at the end of the quarter.

Paulson reported owning an 11.3 percent stake in AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., also based in Johannesburg, in March.

Armel Leslie, a spokesman for Paulson, declined to comment.

Paulson’s largest fund, the Advantage Plus Fund Ltd. returned 4.8 percent through April.

Money managers who oversee more than $100 million in equities must file a Form 13F within 45 days of each quarter’s end to list their U.S.-traded stocks, options and convertible bonds. The filings don’t show non-U.S. securities or how much cash the firms hold.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katherine Burton in New York at kburton@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 15, 2009 15:58 EDT

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