Hillhouse Capital’s Q3 Returns Lifted by SINA Corp (SINA), JD.Com Inc (JD), More

Hillhouse Capital Group is an investment fund founded by Chinese businessman Zhang Lei in 2005 with $20 million in seed capital from the Yale Endowment. The fund manages over $3.97 billion worth of equity portfolio, as of the end of the second quarter. It reported an eye-catching return of 17.97% in the third quarter from its 22 holdings in companies.

Albeit investors are not happy with hedge funds lately  due to high fees, low returns and scandals, Insider Monkey’s research establishes that mimicking hedge funds for their long side of portfolio actually works, and could help in beating the market. In the third quarter, out of nearly 660 funds tracked by Insider Monkey, 627 posted positive returns from their holdings in companies whose market worth stood at a minimum of $1 billion.

Hillhouse Capital’s returns in the third quarter were also due to its long bets in mostly China-based companies. Let’s see the details of some of these top picks.

Hillhouse Capital Management retained its gigantic position in JD.Com Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:JD) in the second quarter, having a total of over 123.21 million shares of the company valued at $2.61 billion. The stock returned 22.9% during the third quarter. At the end of the second quarter, a total of 51 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, down by 30% from one quarter earlier. Trailing Hillhouse Capital Management, which was the largest shareholder, was Tiger Global Management LLC, which amassed a stake valued at $934.2 million. Orbis Investment Management, Viking Global, and Coatue Management also held valuable positions in the company.

At the end of the June quarter, Hillhouse Capital Management had owned about 8.1 million shares of  Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP). The overall worth of this stake was about $333.4 million. The stock appreciated by 13% during the third quarter. Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP) was in 43 hedge funds’ equity portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2016, down from 67 funds a quarter earlier. More specifically, Fisher Asset Management was the largest shareholder of Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (ADR) (NASDAQ:CTRP), with a stake worth $410.1 million reported as of the end of June. Viking Global, Tourbillon Capital Partners, and OZ Management also held valuable positions in the company.

Hillhouse Capital Management upped its position in 58.com Inc (ADR) (NYSE:WUBA) by 179% during the second quarter, ending the period with a total of about 3.72 million shares worth $170.60 million. In the following three months, the stock inched up by 3.9% during the third quarter. At the end of June, there were 29 funds tracked by us that held shares of 58.com, down by two over the quarter. The largest stake in 58.com Inc (ADR) (NYSE:WUBA) was held by Hillhouse Capital Management, which was followed by OZ Management with a $166.5 million position. Other investors bullish on the company included Viking Global, Emerging Sovereign Group, and Serenity Capital.

Hillhouse Capital added SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) as a new position to its portfolio in the second quarter, as the fund bought about 1.42 million shares of the company, which had a total value of $73.66 million at the end of June. The stock surged by 42.3% during the third quarter. At the end of the second quarter, a total of 21 investors followed by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, up by 40% from the end of the first quarter. Platinum Asset Management was the largest shareholder of SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA), with a stake worth $270.3 million reported as of the end of June. Aristeia Capital, Eton Park Capital, and Two Sigma Advisors also held valuable positions in the company.

Disclosure: none