George Soros is not a fan of Donald Trump, and he was hoping markets weren’t either. He spent big to defeat the GOP this election, and when that didn’t work, he bet big against Trump in the markets.
Both times, he was trounced. Bigly.
Mr. Soros was cautious about the market going into November and became more bearish immediately after Mr. Trump’s election, according to people close to the matter. The stance proved a mistake—the stock market has rallied on expectations that Mr. Trump’s policies will boost corporate earnings and the overall economy.
As a result, some of Mr. Soros’s trading positions incurred losses approaching $1 billion, the people say. Mr. Soros adjusted his positions and exited many of his bearish bets late last year, avoiding further losses, the people added.
The broader portfolio held by Mr. Soros’s firm performed better, posting profits before and after the election from long-held investments in sectors including financials and industrials, according to people familiar with the firm. Those gains helped Soros Fund Management gain about 5% on the year.
Mr. Soros, chairman of the firm, continues to trade a portion of Soros Fund’s cash and his positions often are quite volatile, the people said. The firm is currently interviewing candidates for a vacant chief investment officer position. Some close to the firm say Mr. Soros could play a reduced trading role when someone is hired to fill the role. In recent years, the 86-year-old billionaire has focused on public policy and philanthropy. He was a large contributor to the super PAC backing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and has donated to other groups supporting Democrats.
Unfortunately, Soros has billions more to lose. Still, we’re happy he’s a little bit lighter in the pockets.
