Impala Asset Management is a multi-billion dollar Connecticut-based hedge fund that was founded by Robert Bishop in 2004. Prior to starting Impala Asset Management, Robert Bishop worked as a Chief Investment Officer at Soros Fund Management, managing the Quantum Endowment Fund. Other positions which have helped him accumulate great knowledge of the investment space include working as a Principal at Maverick Capital, where he supervised investments in primary industries, such as transportation, commodities, energy, manufacturing, etc.; Portfolio Manager at Kingdon Capital; Managing Director of Tiger Management; and equity analyst at Salomon Brothers. Almost 40 years ago, he worked as a Legislative Assistant/Director for Congressmen Toby Roth and Don Ritter. Robert Bishop holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Political Science from Northwestern University. Currently, he is the Managing Principal of Impala Asset Management in charge of Alpha Funds, Impala and other managed accounts, while also directing the analysis of the primary industries in which the funds usually invests, such as capital goods, metals, automotive, and energy. The fund uses a long/short investment strategy.
Impala Asset Management has been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission since January 2006. The fund now manages offices in New York and Florida, in addition to Connecticut. Currently, its 13F portfolio is valued at $2.18 billion, while its current assets under management are unknown. Impala’s recent returns have been exceptional, ranking it in 18th place among Barron’s top 100 Hedge Funds in 2018, with the fund delivering a return of 16.28% in the previous year, and an averaged return of 29.65% between 2015 and 2017.
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Now, let’s take a look at Impala’s top holdings reported in its 13F filing for the second quarter of 2018. Even though the fund lowered its stake in Teck Resources Ltd. (TECK) by 6%, it still remains its largest stake, accounting for 15.2% of its portfolio. Impala Asset Management holds 12.99 million shares of Teck Resources, valued at $330.89 million.
The second biggest stake is the same as in the previous quarter – Caterpillar Inc (CAT). The fund holds a position in the company worth around $184.72 million and raised its stake by 4% from the previous quarter. While Impala Asset Management remains bullish on Caterpillar, the number of smart investors from our database with long positions in the company dropped by one when compared to the previous quarter. Seeing that this is a minimal decrease and that this stock is a bit more popular with the hedge funds that we track when compared to companies with similar market caps, it is safe to say that Impala Asset Management is wisely building its position in this company. On the next page we’ll check out some other recent changes to Impala’s 13F portfolio.
