Billionaire Chris Rokos’ Top 10 Stock Picks

Published March 30, 2021 at 10:37 am EDT Updated September 7, 2026 at 1:26 pm EDT

In this article, we discussed billionaire Chris Rokos’ investment strategy and how he generated billions of dollars for investors over the last two decades. We also highlighted billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks.

Billionaire Chris Rokos’ hedge fund created several new positions during the fourth quarter to extend his record-breaking profitability momentum into 2021. His macro hedge fund Rokos Capital Management, which posted a 44% gain for 2020, has been betting bigger on information technology stocks in 2021. The firm has also spread its investments across several other sectors including consumer discretionary, communication, and healthcare. Moreover, the London-based billionaire also seeks to hedge his stock positions through binary options. His call option position on Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) is valued at over $1 billion and represented almost 23% of the overall 13F portfolio of Rokos Capital Management at the end of the Q4.

Overall, Rokos Capital Management created 32 new stock positions during the final quarter of 2020 and added to its 3 existing positions. Chris Rokos, who is described as an “exceptional trader” by his former boss Alan Howard, seeks to make money through short-term price movements instead of holding a position for the long-term. The time held for his top ten positions averages around 0.55 quarters. Rokos Capital Management’s 13F portfolio market valued stood at around $4.56 billion at the end of last year, up from just $0.45 billion in the year-ago period. The top ten positions weighted around 66% of the overall portfolio.

Early in 2020, Chris Rokos announced a new fundraising round of as much as $1 billion. The firm has previously raised almost $3 billion in 2017 and $900 million in the last year to capitalize on profit-making opportunities.

In 2002, Chris Rokos co-founded Brevan Howard Asset Management with three former Credit Suisse directors Jean Philippe Blochet, James Vernon, and Trifon Natsis. Billionaire Chris Rokos had generated billions of dollars for Brevan Howard during his ten years with the macro hedge fund. For instance, he generated $1.11 billion in 2007 for Brevan Howard flagship Master Fund and $1.27 billion in 2011. Before forming Brevan Howard Asset Management, he worked for big names including UBS, Goldman Sachs, and Credit Suisse.

Chris Rokos was born in the UK and holds a MA degree from Oxford University. He founded Rokos Capital Management in 2015 using capital investments of $500 million from American private equity giant Blackstone Group and earned 20% gains in the first year of trading, thanks to his bet on stocks that gained momentum after Donald Trump’s victory. However, his hedge fund saw sluggish performances in the next two years. With a 44% return, fiscal 2020 was the best year for Roko Capital Management since its inception. The firm generated a 9% return in 2019. RCM is headquartered in London, with an economic research office in Washington DC.

Billionaire Chris Rokos' Top 5 Stock Picks

While Chris Rokos’ reputation remains intact, the same can’t be said of the hedge fund industry as a whole, as its reputation has been tarnished in the last decade, during which its hedged returns couldn’t keep up with the unhedged returns of the market indices. On the other hand, Insider Monkey’s research was able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that outperformed the S&P 500 ETFs by more than 124 percentage points since March 2017. Between March 2017 and February 26th 2021 our monthly newsletter’s stock picks returned 197.2%, vs. 72.4% for the SPY. Our stock picks outperformed the market by more than 124 percentage points (see the details here). We were also able to identify in advance a select group of hedge fund holdings that significantly underperformed the market. We have been tracking and sharing the list of these stocks since February 2017 and they lost 13% through November 16th. That’s why we believe hedge fund sentiment is an extremely useful indicator that investors should pay attention to. You can subscribe to our free newsletter on our homepage to receive our stories in your inbox.

Let’s start evaluating billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks to gauge his potential gains for the first quarter and fiscal 2021.

10. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS)

The London-based Chris Rokos’ hedge fund initiated a brand new position in the world’s largest entertainment giant The Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) during Q4. Disney saw massive losses in 2020 due to the pandemic and lockdowns. Despite that, the investment appears to be working for the Rokos Capital in 2021 as DIS shares rallied 7% in the last three months, driven by economic reopening measures. Rokos’ firm held 247,198 shares of Walt Disney as of the end of 2020.

Semper Augustus Investments Group, an investment management firm, highlighted a few stocks including Disney in the fourth-quarter investors’ letter. Here is what Semper Augustus said:

“With few exceptions, portfolio activity added tremendous earning power. Sales were generally undertaken at high prices where price gains had outstripped fundamentals and thus as earnings yields diminished. Buys added wholesale earnings power. When numerous holdings plunged in price in March and later, we both added to and initiated positions at high single-digit expected earnings yields.

Portfolio activity in Disney provides an example of the opportunity the year brought. Disney was originally purchased in 2018 prior to the closing of their merger with Twenty-First Century Fox (21st Century Fox). Disney’s shares were weak during the prior four years, largely due to the well-known fact that cord cutting was harming Disney’s valuable ESPN franchise. Hard to believe in my household but some people evidently don’t enjoy watching televised sports, and as the highest priced platform in the traditional cable or satellite bundle, a loss of subscribers comes with a loss of revenue. Further, the merger-arbitrage community had bid up the price of Fox and down the price of Disney shares. At $100 per share, Disney traded for roughly 15 times then its earning power.”

9. FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE)

Billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks include electricity provider FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE: FE). The shares of the utility company rose 11% so far in 2021 amid Carl Icahn’s involvement in the management. Rokos Capital bought 1.55 million shares of FirstEnergy during the fourth quarter, representing 1.02% of the overall portfolio.

FirstEnergy was in 50 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of December compared to the all-time high for this statistic of 59. FE shareholders have witnessed a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds recently. There were 59 hedge funds in our database with FE holdings at the end of September.

8. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V)

Chris Rokos’ hedge fund bought 271,105 shares of Visa (NYSE: V) during the fourth quarter valued at $58.3 million. However, shares of the payment technology company are trading in the red so far this year despite a strong recovery from pandemic lows that it had hit last year.

Visa has seen an increase in hedge fund sentiment in recent months. It was in 166 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the all-time high for this statistic of 160. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all-time high. There were 160 hedge funds in our database with V holdings at the end of September.

7. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE: MA)

Billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks include another payment technology giant Mastercard (NYSE: MA). Rokos’ firm bought 172,040 shares of Mastercard during the fourth quarter, accounting for 1.34% of the overall portfolio. The share price of the payment technology company grew more than 2% year to date, extending the six-month gains to 10%.

The number of bullish hedge fund bets went up by 21 recently. Mastercard Incorporated was in 154 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020. The all-time high for this statistic was previously 147. This means the bullish number of hedge fund positions in this stock currently sits at its all-time high.

6. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)

The world’s most prominent technology player Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also among the billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks. Its shares are up 6.30% since the beginning of this year, accelerating the twelve-month gains to 51%. Rokos Capital Management initiated a new position in MSFT during the fourth quarter by purchasing 319,688 shares.

Bretton Fund, which returned 11.52% for the fourth quarter, highlighted a few stocks including Microsoft in the Q4 investors’ letter. Here is what Bretton Fund stated:

“Microsoft’s stock also had a great year, returning 42.4% on increased earnings per share of 30%. The main driver of their growth in recent years is their cloud computing business, and while it did see a bump in demand as office workers went remote, most of the growth is from the continued shift of corporate computing systems to “the cloud.” We think this shift is still in its early stages.”

5. QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM)

The London-based hedge fund first initiated a position in Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ: QCOM) during the third quarter and left its position unchanged during the fourth quarter. QCOM is ranked fifth in the list of billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks for 2021.

In the Q4 investors’ letter, Alger Spectra Fund stated that QUALCOMM has more upside ahead amid robust demand for chips. Here is what Alger Spectra Fund said:

“Qualcomm is a leading semiconductor company with strong positions in telecommunications end markets that position the company as a primary beneficiary of the innovative 5G network standard rollout. Qualcomm is commonly acknowledged as having the best technology specs for 5Gchipsets as evidenced by signing up all 75 major original equipment manufacturers of telephone handsets including Apple. Additionally, beyond handsets, Qualcomm is positioned to generate growth from automobile manufacturers, the Internet of Things, gaming and other markets.

The shares contributed to performance because Qualcomm’s earnings beat expectations in the face of coronavirus driven declines in the broad handset market. Importantly, the market is improving as the magnitude of handset declines is diminishing sequentially. Qualcomm’s fundamentals are benefitting from a faster-than-expected shift to the 5G standard. As such, the company’s 5G guidance exceeded expectations.”

4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG)

Shares of Alphabet outperformed the broader market trend in 2021 amid an improving outlook for ads revenue. Chris Rokos’ hedge fund first initiated a position in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2020 and added to its existing position in Q4. The firm held 81,324 shares of Google parent Alphabet at the end of the latest quarter.

GoodHaven Capital Management, a concentrated portfolio investment management firm, stated in the Q4 investors’ letter that Google is likely to extend the growth trend in 2021. Here is what GoodHaven Capital Management said:

“Alphabet’s family of digital advertising platforms continues to quickly recover from the global economic downturn in the spring and as we expected earnings growth has resumed. In a surprise to nobody, the U.S. Department of Justice, FTC, and many state enforcement agencies are marching forward on their myriad of anti-competitive legal actions against Alphabet. We think these issues are manageable though hardly trivial. By the way, we own parts of businesses, and there are always things to worry and think about that might impact those businesses. Often, the more important things to focus on get less attention from prognosticators. At Alphabet, for instance, we have long focused on the inter-play of their historic relationship with Apple – where Alphabet appears to pay Apple at least $7 billion/year to be the default search engine on all iOS devices. This relationship figures prominently in some of the enforcement action(s) but until recently was less frequently discussed. It was, however, something we had long spent time considering and the type of deeper analysis we focus on for all our companies. Alphabet’s top line grew a very impressive 15% in Q3 2020 with many aspects of digital advertising still depressed from COVID-19. That implies that other parts of the Alphabet ecosystem – such as Cloud, Google Play and YouTube grew faster. Google shopping’s decision earlier this year to reduce listing barriers appears thoughtful. We’d think that growth overall at Alphabet could accelerate in 2021. At a below market adjusted P/E multiple we see plenty of upside over time.”

3. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)

The world’s largest technology giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is among the billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks for 2021. Shares of the most prominent smartphone seller fell significantly in 2021 due to investors’ shift towards growth stocks. Apple stock price is down 8% year to date. Rokos’ initiated a new position in Apple during Q4 by purchasing more than 1.2 million shares.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, a high value-added investment management firm, highlighted few stocks including Apple in the Q4 investors’ letter. Here is what Artisan Partners Limited Partnership said:

“We fully exited position in Apple. Apple is a global designer, manufacturer and seller of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, which also has a rapidly growing and highly profitable services business. We had been shareholders since 2011, owning Apple in various sizes throughout our investment campaign. Apple remained in the portfolio all these years because the market systematically assigned the company an undemanding asking price despite characteristics which should command a premium. Our differentiated view was Apple had “won” in the smartphone business along with their other product categories as its iOS operating system tied users into an ecosystem and rising services adoption led to increased switching costs for users. Survey data showed users were as happy with Apple products as ever, too. With all these traits in place, the result was a rising installed base and each user becoming more valuable due to services attach rates. When combined with an average asking price, tremendous free cash flow generation, and management pointing all cash flow back to shareholders, the odds of a strong return were heavily tilted in our favor. Apple is likely to remain an extraordinary business for years to come, but we can’t separate the business from the asking price. At over 30X earnings and $2 trillion in value, Apple needs to create opportunities worth hundreds of billions for shareholders to now justify the asking price. So, we exited a long-time holding, but we know being disciplined and recycling capital into better opportunities is the appropriate decision.”

2. Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX)

Billionaire Chris Rokos’ added Equinix Inc (NASDAQ: EQIX) into his portfolio during the fourth quarter by purchasing 278,057 shares valued at $195 million. Shares of the digital infrastructure company fell 4% so far this year. Equinix’s position represents 4.28% of the overall Rokos’ portfolio at the end of Q4, according to the latest quarterly fillings.

In the Q4 investors’ letter, RiverPark Advisors claimed that Equinix is likely to accelerate its profitability momentum into 2021. Here is what RiverPark Advisors said:

“For Equinix, we continue to believe that the company is strategically well-positioned with 227 data centers in 63 metro areas across 26 countries and should continue to profit from the increased adoption of cloud and hyper-scale data center infrastructure globally.”

1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Shares of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) have also been struggling since the beginning of this year amid concerns that economic reopening will reduce demand for online products. It is the largest stock holding in the list of billionaire Chris Rokos’ top 10 stock picks.

Mairs & Power, an investment management firm, stated in a Q4 investors’ letter that Amazon’s rising margins and advertising business are among the catalysts. Here is what Mairs & Power stated:

“We did acquire AMZN in the fourth quarter. But not owning it till then cost the Fund in performance relative to the S&P 500 TR Index. We had held off taking a position in Amazon largely due to concerns about the company’s slim margins. But in 2020, we saw its core margins nearly double as more consumers shopped online, which in turn led to greater utilization and route density within Amazon’s delivery network. In addition, Amazon’s advertising business, which represents a small portion of its overall sales, has been growing quickly. Advertising could become the third leg of growth for the company along with e-commerce and Amazon Web Services. In short, Amazon checks all of our boxes — it has a strong management team, great growth prospects, and a strong competitive advantage. And last year, we initiated our position at an intriguing valuation.”

You can also take a peek at Billionaire Lee Ainslie’s Top 10 Stock Picks and Billionaire Nelson Peltz’s Top 8 Stock Picks.

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