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Famed “Big Short” investor Michael Burry is benefiting from the recent surge in Chinese stocks.
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Burry’s Scion Asset Management has nearly half of its portfolio invested in Chinese tech giants like Alibaba.
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China’s recent stimulus measures, including interest-rate cuts, have sparked a surge in stock gains.
The surge in Chinese stocks this week should be music to the ears of hedge fund manager Michael Burry of “The Big Short” fame.
Burry began aggressively buying Chinese stocks in the fourth quarter of 2022, and it seems to finally be paying off.
According to 13F filings, Burry’s Scion Asset Management, which manages about $200 million, has about half of its portfolio invested in Chinese tech giants.
Burry counts Alibaba at his largest position at 21% of the portfolio, and he was still buying the stock as recently as the second quarter, boosting his stake by 24%.
Burry also has 12% of his portfolio invested in Baidu, and another 12% of his portfolio invested in JD.com. Altogether, Burry had about 46% of his portfolio invested in the three Chinese stock as of June 30.
All three stocks have surged this week after China got serious about announcing stimulus plans to revitalize its struggling economy.
The People’s Bank of China announce key interest rate cuts, lowered bank reserve requirements to stimulate lending, and said it plans liquidity support for the stock market.
The country also encouraged its companies to start buying back stock.
All of these measures and dovish speak from policymakers led to a massive surge in China’s stock market this week.
The iShares MSCI China ETF is up 18% so far this week. Meanwhile, shares of Alibaba, Baidu, and JD.com are up 19%, 18%, and 32% so far this week, respectively.
According to data from HedgeFollow, which tracks and compiles data from 13F filings, the recent gains in China’s stock market should mean Burry too is seeing some sizable gains in his portfolio, with Alibaba leading the charge.
HedgeFollow estimates that Burry has an average cost per share of $78.83 for his Alibaba stake. Shares of Alibaba hit $105.25 in Thursday afternoon trades, representing an estimated gain of 34%.
This assumes that Burry has not sold any shares since Scion’s last 13F filing, which offers data as of June 30.
Burry isn’t the only hedge fund manager making money off of the recent surge in China’s stock market.
Billionaire investor David Tepper said on Thursday that it’s a buy “everything” moment for Chinese stocks.
Like Burry, Tepper count Alibaba as his hedge fund’s largest position, making up about 12% of his $6.2 billion Appaloosa fund. Tepper believes there’s more upside to be had in Chinese stocks due to their depressed valuations.
“Even with the recent moves they’re like on a flat-line low compared to where they have been in the past. And you’re sitting there with single multiple PEs, with double-digit growth rates for the big stocks that trade over here,” Tepper said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
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