Revenge can be so sweet, especially when it takes nearly a decade. It all started 10 years ago when Bill Ackman’s first hedge fund was imploding. Ackman reluctantly turned to fellow hedge fund manager Carl Icahn for help. Read More

In some ways, Bill Ackman invests like he’s riding a bicycle. In the summer of 2012, Ackman joined fellow hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb and half-dozen other cyclists on a very long bike ride. Although Ackman, a fierce competitor, was admittedly out of shape for such a ride, he pulled out to lead the pack early, only to eventually fall well behind the others. One participant noted, “I’ve never had an experience where someone has gone from being so aggressive on a bike to being so hopelessly unable to even turn the pedals… (Ackman’s)… Read More

In some ways, Bill Ackman invests like he’s riding a bicycle. In the summer of 2012, Ackman joined fellow hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb and half-dozen other cyclists on a very long bike ride. Although Ackman, a fierce competitor, was admittedly out of shape for such a ride, he pulled out to lead the pack early, only to eventually fall well behind the others. One participant noted, “I’ve never had an experience where someone has gone from being so aggressive on a bike to being so hopelessly unable to even turn the pedals… (Ackman’s) mind wrote a check that his body couldn’t cash.”#-ad_banner-# Some activist investors like to start with a small position or take a “backseat” role, but Ackman starts out in high gear: He takes on management directly and generally looks for a board seat immediately. Ackman does all his research upfront — as seen from some of his multi-hundred-slide presentations — before taking a stake, and he has a goal in mind before even approaching management. He’s come a long way over the past decade, now that… Read More

Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman have helped make investors serious money in the railroad industry over the past couple of years. If you missed these opportunities while trying to navigate the financial crisis, never fear: There’s still… Read More

Billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman have helped make investors serious money in the railroad industry over the past couple of years. If you missed these opportunities while trying to navigate the financial crisis, never fear: There’s still… Read More

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but spinoff companies are as close to free as you can get.  When a company is spun off, there’s a high level of forced selling. One of the best ways to think about spinoffs: “There’s a natural constituency of sellers and not a natural constituency of buyers,” according to “Margin of Safety” author and hedge fund manager Seth Klarman. Simply, many shareholders who own shares of the… Read More

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, but spinoff companies are as close to free as you can get.  When a company is spun off, there’s a high level of forced selling. One of the best ways to think about spinoffs: “There’s a natural constituency of sellers and not a natural constituency of buyers,” according to “Margin of Safety” author and hedge fund manager Seth Klarman. Simply, many shareholders who own shares of the parent company are not interested in owning the spinoff. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as different business fundamentals, weak management, or negative cash flow. In most cases, investors are selling the company for no good reason. While on the other side, the buyers are limited, as the market is inefficient in digesting data on new spinoff companies.  Spinoffs Versus The Market  Yet, over the long term, spinoff… Read More

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) jumped to over $34 last week, marking the first time since its IPO that the stock has traded that high. This came after a one-day climb of nearly 30%. A great one-day move, right? But let’s put it in perspective: Since its May 2012 IPO, FB is still down more than 3%.#-ad_banner-# The social network blew through both earnings and… Read More

Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) jumped to over $34 last week, marking the first time since its IPO that the stock has traded that high. This came after a one-day climb of nearly 30%. A great one-day move, right? But let’s put it in perspective: Since its May 2012 IPO, FB is still down more than 3%.#-ad_banner-# The social network blew through both earnings and revenue expectations. Second-quarter earnings per share came in at 19 cents, compared with the consensus forecast of 14 cents and the 12 cents a share posted during the second quarter last year. In reality, all of Facebook’s numbers were up big-time: Total monthly active users were up to 1.15 billion, up 20% year over year; mobile monthly active users were up to 819 million, up 51%; and daily active users were up to 699 million, up 27%. The real gem? Mobile… Read More

Can you name the gambling capital of the world?  If your answer is “Las Vegas,” you’re wrong.  Macau is the world’s leading destination for betting, having passed Vegas back in 2006 in terms of gambling… Read More