Ackman’s Pershing Square Holdings falls to loss in ‘challenging’ year
Shares in Bill Ackman’s London-listed Pershing Square Holdings fell today after the firm revealed its investments slid in value by 26 per cent in a “challenging” first half of the year.
In its investment manager’s report, FTSE 100 Pershing Square Holdings said its net asset value per share, including dividends, tumbled by 26 per cent in the first half of the year while its share price fell by 27.3 per cent, compared with the S&P 500 which declined 20 per cent.
As of the 16th August, the firm said it had enjoyed a slight rebound with its portfolio currently down 10.8 per cent for the year, below that of the S&P 500 at 8.8 per cent.
In a letter to shareholders, Ackman said it had been a “challenging” year so far for the firm as equity markets were rocked by soaring inflation and the impact of war in Ukraine.
“2022 has been an unusual and highly volatile year in the capital markets,” he said.
“This volatility has been driven by uncertainty associated with high levels of global inflation, central-bank-led increases in interest rates and related confusion about monetary policy, the risk of a possible recession, the war in Ukraine, political divisiveness and discord, and fear and unease about climate change and geopolitical risk.”
He added that the firm was unlikely to adjust its portfolio significantly however, and plans to “largely ignore shorter-term factors that drive stock market movements”.
“In other words, we can sail through the stormy seas with a focus on the long-term horizon,” he added.
Ackman’s fund was hit by a decision to snap up a major stake in Netflix in January before it then exited the stake months later when the streaming giant reported a slide in users.
In the report today, bosses said it was “very disappointing to have a substantial loss on an investment in such a short time frame” but it had acted fast to shed the investment after the information came to light.
Shares in Pershing Square Holdings are trading down 1.28 per cent today at 15:15.