Sound Shore Management, an investment management firm, published its first-quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The Sound Shore Fund Investor Class (SSHFX) and Institutional Class (SSHVX) declined 0.97% and 0.91%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2022, trailing the Russell 1000 Value Index (Russell Value) which declined 0.74%. The one-year advances for SSHFX of 10.07% and for SSHVX of 10.30% were behind the Russell Value’s 11.67%. As long-term investors, we highlight that Sound Shore’s 30-year annualized returns of 10.19% and 10.45%, for SSHFX and SSHVX, respectively, as of March 31, 2022, the fund is ahead of the Russell Value at 10.17%. Try to spend some time taking a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to be informed about their best picks for 2022.
In its Q1 2022 investor letter, Sound Shore Fund mentioned Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1929, Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) is a New York, New York-based investment holding company with an $11.2 billion market capitalization. Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) delivered a 25.78% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 24.36%. The stock closed at $839.72 per share on April 26, 2022.
Here is what Sound Shore Fund has to say about Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:
“Another strong performer for the quarter was property and casualty insurer Alleghany Corp. Often referred to as a mini-Berkshire Hathaway, we initiated the Alleghany position during the COVID-19 selloff of March 2020 when the stock was trading at a below normal 12 times earnings and at a discount to tangible book value. Under the leadership of CEO Joseph Brandon, (former CEO of General Re, a Berkshire insurance company), Alleghany’s core property and casualty insurance businesses are capitalizing on industry pricing gains. Meanwhile, the company’s noninsurance business, Alleghany Capital, has accumulated a diverse group of increasingly profitable divisions in industrial parts, machine tools, hotels, toys and funeral services. Apparently Warren Buffett agreed with us and at the end of March, Berkshire Hathaway (also a portfolio holding) struck an agreement to buy Alleghany for $11.6 billion, a 25% premium.”
Our calculations show that Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) was in 33 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021, compared to 30 funds in the previous quarter. Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) delivered a 30.13% return in the past 3 months.
In November 2021, we published an article that includes Alleghany Corporation (NYSE:Y) in Top 5 Stock Picks of John D. Gillespie’s Prospector Partners. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q1 page.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
