Seth Klarman of Baupost Group drastically reduced his large stake in Google and YouTube owner Alphabet ahead of the July sell-off, according to a new regulatory filing with the SEC. The Boston-based hedge fund manager, who manages about $28 billion in assets, reduced his Alphabet position by 64% to just $195 million by the end of June, making it his seventh-largest holding, the filing shows. Alphabet had been Baupost’s second-biggest bet in the first quarter. The sale came just before the red-hot tech name turned sour. After rising over 20% in the second quarter, Alphabet has lost more than 12% in the current quarter as investors exited high-flying megacaps. Klarman, a follower of Benjamin Graham’s value investing style, is compared to Warren Buffett for his patient, disciplined approach, leading some to call him the Oracle of Boston. The 67-year-old Harvard and Cornell graduate published his now-out-of-print investing guide, “Margin of Safety,” in 1991. The book now sells for thousands of dollars online. At the end of the second quarter, Klarman’s long-standing holdings, including John Malone’s media conglomerate Liberty Global, Fidelity National Information Services and Just Eat Takeaway, were still among his top holdings. Meanwhile, last quarter he bought shares in health insurer Humana and a small stake in Capri Holdings, a merger arbitrage bet amid a planned $8.5 billion acquisition by Tapestry.
Baupost’s Seth Klarman trimmed his large stake in Alphabet last quarter before the sell-off
