Brevan Howard is a hedge fund co-founded by Alan Howard and Jean-Philippe Blochet in 2003, with the latter leaving the firm in 2009. Howard ranks number 35 on Forbes’ list of billionaires in the United Kingdom, having a real-time net worth of $1.65 billion. Howard’s fund had its first net loss for a year in 2014, incurring a loss of 0.8% after fees. The hedge fund had assets worth $32.8 billion under management at the end of that year. We decided to look at the stock investments of the firm and found it has a noticeable inclination towards the finance sector, with nearly 60% of its portfolio dedicated towards stocks from that sector. According to the recent 13F filing of Brevan Howard, the hedge fund reported an public equity portfolio holding $324.36 million in long positions. Some of its finance positions that we are going to look at in this post include Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION), and KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY).
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Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) is a new position in Brevan Howard’s equity portfolio, with the fund having ownership of 273,378 shares valued at $14.03 million. Comerica Incorporated is among the top 25 banking companies in the country and operates under three different segments: business banking, retail banking, and the wealth management department. The banking company missed the market’s earnings expectations when it announced its second quarter results on July 17, with its reported earnings per share of $0.74 coming up $0.02 short, although its revenues of $682 million came in $8.75 million higher than the analysts’ estimates. The smart money tracked by Insider Monkey maintains a bullish outlook on Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA), with 39 hedge funds holding $792.38 million in shares of the company as of June 30 against previous quarter holdings worth $678.44 million from 32 hedge funds. The shares of the banking company improved by 13.72% during the second quarter, contributing to the elevated aggregate investments. Martin Whitman’s Third Avenue Management was the top stockholder of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) at the end of the second quarter, holding a position worth $152.58 million for 2.97 million shares.
Alan Howard held 206,166 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in his portfolio, with the investment valued at $13.97 million. The financial holding company was able to beat Wall Street’s earnings and revenue expectations for the second quarter, with earnings per share of $1.54 against market estimates of $1.44. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s quarterly revenue of $24.53 billion was slightly above analysts’ expectations of $24.49 billion. In terms of hedge fund investments, 98 hedge funds in our database held positions worth $9.01 billion in the company on June 30, with the aggregate investments rising nearly 18% in comparison with the previous quarter. JPMorgan’s shares were up by 11.85% during the second quarter, contributing to part of that rise. Lansdowne Partners, led by Paul Ruddock and Steve Heinz, owned 21.16 million shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) worth $1.43 billion at the end of the second quarter.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) is another new addition to Alan Howard’s equity portfolio, as his hedge fund held 667,416 shares valued at $13.90 million. The banking institution announced its second quarter financial results on July 21, announcing earnings per share of $0.36 for the period, which was in-line with the market’s expectations. The smart money was bullish on Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), with 41 hedge funds holding $625.04 million in shares at the end of the second quarter against previous quarter holdings of $360.58 million from 28 hedgies. Fifth Third Bancorp witnessed 10.45% growth in its share price during the second quarter, contributing towards the investment gains. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management was the largest shareholder of the bank in our database, improving its position by 587% in the second quarter to 5.85 million shares valued at $121.75 million. Among the hedge funds trimming their investments in Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Two Sigma Advisors, led by John Overdeck and David Siegel, was at the top, dumping its entire stake of 2.06 million shares in the company.
Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) comes in at number eight in the equity portfolio of the hedge fund, which held 436,360 shares valued at $13.85 million. The mid-cap bank announced its second quarter financial results on July 20, reporting a net loss of $0.01 per share. The net loss came after taking a one-time pretax hit of $137 million because of the sale of its remaining collateralized debt obligation securities. In terms of hedge fund activity, Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION) gained popularity among the hedge funds in our database, with 36 funds holding $608.12 million in the company’s shares compared to holdings of $572.44 million held by 30 hedgies three months earlier. Its shares were up by 17.54% during the quarter, much higher than the increase in aggregate holdings, meaning hedge funds collectively disposed of some of their shares. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management held the largest stake in Zions Bancorporation among the hedge funds we track, possessing 3.33 million shares worth $105.54 million.
Brevan Howard initiated new positions in 16 stocks during the second quarter, including KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY). The hedge fund reported ownership of 921,540 shares of the bank holding company valued at $13.84 million. KeyCorp reported second quarter earnings per share of $0.27 on July 16, falling short of analysts’ estimates by $0.01. Further, the net interest margin of the banking company was down to 2.88% against prior year interest margins of 2.91%. Despite a 6.07% growth in KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY)’s shares during the second quarter, net investments from hedge funds in our database declined by 16% to $702.24 million. Among 37 hedge funds holding a position in the company, AQR Capital Management topped the list with 10.08 million shares valued at $151.38 million.
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