Ackmans Pershing Square reaps $2.7 billion from rate trade but down 9% in 2022 -letter

Ackman's Pershing Square reaps $2.7 billion from rate trade but down 9% in 2022 -letter

By Nell Mackenzie

LONDON (Reuters) – Billionaire investor William Ackmans Pershing Square fund reaped $2.7 billion on interest rate trades in 2022, but not enough to plug losses and the fund finished the year down almost 9%, according to an investor presentation seen by Reuters.

U.S. stock indexes had a dismal 2022 with the S&P 500 slumping almost 20%, as the Federal Reserve battled soaring inflation with aggressive interest rate hikes that roiled markets.

Pershing Square Capital Management in 2022 lost 8.8% of its net asset value its worst result since 2016, while its share price fell 14.6%, the presentation dated Feb. 9 showed.

The assets minus the liabilities in Ackmans fund trade at a discount to its share price. The fund may consider moving its listing from Europe to the United States to remedy this, a Jefferies analyst note said on Friday.

“It would likely offer a very good chance of materially narrowing the discount, given the nexus for the fund and manager has always been the U.S. anyway,” said the Jefferies note.

“This possibility is also something that we do not feel is currently reflected in PSHs share price,” it said.

The contents of the presentation were reported by Institutional Investor on Thursday.

Pershing Square traditionally holds a smaller number of investments. Stock positions in companies such as Lowe‘s, Netflix, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Domino’s Pizza, Hilton and Universal Music Group detracted from positive performance elsewhere, the note said.

A performance fee was not charged by Pershing Square Holdings in 2022, the presentation said.

Positions in Netflix and Dominos Pizza were sold in order to free up capital for new opportunities, said the presentation.

Interest rate protection in the form of derivatives known as swaptions, a bet on volatility in rates markets, the fast food company Restaurant Brands International, energy hedges and share buybacks all retraced losses, the presentation said.

The interest rate hedges were initiated in late 2020 and early 2021. In 2022 the fund entered new positions in long-term interest rates, currencies and energy it said.

The Fed raised rates from near zero in March to a range of 4.25%-4.5% last year, hiking rates by a further 25 basis points last week.

Pershing Square declined to comment.

(Reporting by Nell Mackenzie; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe and Louise Heavens)