Heebner Abandons Top Energy Stakes, Buys Financials (Update1)
By Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Capital Growth Management LP's Kenneth Heebner, who in 2007 dumped his entire stake in banks to load up on energy shares, reversed course by selling his top energy holdings and starting new positions in Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp.
Capital Growth, based in Boston, bought 15.4 million shares of Wells Fargo, 27 million shares of Citigroup and 15.6 million shares of Bank of America in the three months ended Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing today.
The firm sold all its shares of Schlumberger Ltd., along with those of Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., Peabody Energy Corp., and Consol Energy Inc. The four companies were four of the money manager's top five holdings as of June 30, Bloomberg data show.
Heebner, 68, known for his rapid movements in and out of stocks, exited banks in the second quarter of 2007 after saying that the credit crisis would hobble earnings. He put more than three-fourths of the fund into natural resources and energy, helping his CGM Focus Fund to an 80 percent gain in 2007, the best performance by a U.S. stock fund.
The $7.4 billion CGM Focus has dropped 46 percent this year, lagging behind 99 percent of rival funds, according to Bloomberg data.
Heebner wasn't available for comment, spokeswoman Martha McGuire said.
Nicknamed ``Bigfoot'' by industry professionals for his large and sudden trades, Heebner now has nearly half of the firm's portfolio in financial companies, Bloomberg data show.
Energy and materials companies now account for 13 percent of Capital Growth's assets, the data show. The firm still holds 13 million shares of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the Brazilian oil company.
Heebner is the co-founder of Capital Growth, which manages more than $10 billion in assets. Besides CGM Focus, Heebner manages the $2.3 billion CGM Realty Fund and the $674 million CGM Mutual Fund.
To contact the reporters on this story: Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam in Boston at sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: November 14, 2008 11:50 EST |
