Billionaire John Paulson’s 2023 Portfolio: Top 5 Stock Picks

2. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 24

John Paulson’s Paulson & Co.’s Holdings: $211,043,853

Percentage of John Paulson’s Paulson & Co.’s Portfolio: 17.54%

BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG), formerly known as OM Asset Management, is a Boston, Massachusetts-based asset management company that provides investment management services to institutional and individual investors. The company offers a range of investment strategies across various asset classes, including equities, fixed income, and alternative investments. BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) posted better-than-expected Q1 2023 results on May 4. Although revenue decreased by 18.2% YoY to $91.8 million, BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) outperformed the consensus forecast of $81.9 million. Meanwhile, EPS was posted at 28 cents, which was one cent higher than the analysts’ forecast.

Here’s what Third Avenue Management said about BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“BrightSphere Investment Group Inc. (NYSE:BSIG), and Cal Maine Foods were eliminated. BrightSphere and Cal Maine were both prototypical time-arbitrage/special situation investments. At the time of original purchase, asset manager, BrightSphere was undergoing a transformation leading to a series of asset sales in 2021. A large portion of the proceeds were returned via a tender offer in December 2021. After shares rose roughly 25% in the fourth quarter, the remaining position was monetized to redeploy into other more attractive securities. Egg producer, Cal Maine, was purchased during the depths of Covid at a deeply discounted valuation. As inflation grips the economy, Cal Maine has benefitted from consumers flocking to cheap sources of protein. In addition, an outbreak of bird flu in the US has disrupted supply. Fortunately, Cal Maine’s flock was spared from bird flu and the company was able to benefit from higher prices without experiencing supply disruptions. Cal Maine’s share price rose 70% in 2022 reaching a valuation meaningfully above our estimate of net asset value. Like BrightSphere, the position was eliminated to raise capital for better opportunities. Selling is not a decision Fund Management takes lightly. The time-arbitrage/ special situation bucket is comprised of companies where the thesis is dependent on an event of change in cycle dynamics. In both cases, the thesis played out as expected and given the valuation improvement, the securities were no longer a good fit for the portfolio.”