It’s back to square one for Bill Ackman’s flagship fund which has wiped out its gains for the year and fallen in the red after getting a brutal pounding from the stock market slump.
CNBC reports that the Wall Street heavyweight told investors in a letter yesterday that Pershing Square Capital Management is now posting a loss after gaining 10% through July. Ouch! The letter cited “significant volatility”.
To be clear, as of yesterday that represented an even bigger loss than the major US market averages which roughly dropped about 8% apiece, with Nasdaq being the worst performer, dipping 8.6%.
Among the biggest casualties in Ackman’s portfolio were Mondelez, which has dropped almost 9% since the start of the months when Ackman took a $5.5 billion stake; Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which dropped 11% over the same period; and Canadian Pacific which lost 14%.
Things have started to look up in US market over the past couple of days but it remains to be seen to what extent Pershing Square will recoup its losses. Either way, for a high profile hedgie like Ackman to lose so much so quickly is frankly embarrassing.
Photo: Insider Monkey