Via Dow Jones, the top-10 hedge fund trades of 2007. Of which we’re a little sceptical. For a start, these are all estimates, and based solely on equity trades. But hey-ho, something to argue over:
Top Trade #1: Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold
Firm: Atticus Management
Profit: $800 million
The New York-based hedge fund hit the mother lode for the second year in the row, scoring paper gains of at least $800 million through its holding in the mining giant.
Top Trade #2: MBIA Inc., Ambac Financial
Firm: Pershing Square Capital Management
Profit: $500+ million
William Ackman’s longtime gamble that bond insurance companies would run into trouble finally paid off this year as mortgage loans to high-risk borrowers started going bad and credit markets stumbled.
Top Trade #3: Foster Wheeler
Firm: Tontine Partners
Profit: $426 million
Sage investments in engineering and construction companies helped cushion the Greenwich, Conn.-based firm’s losses in finance and housing.
Top Trade #4: Union Pacific, Other U.S. Railroads
Firm: Atticus Management
Profit: $387 million
A counterintuitive bet in a sector that typically slows down as aneconomic cycle peaks paid off handsomely for Timothy Barakett’s shop. On top of paper and actual gains, Atticus made more than $20 million in dividend earnings on its railroad holdings.
Top Trade #5: First Solar
Firm: Maverick Capital
Profit: $350+ million
After a stormy 2006, Maverick rebounded in 2007 thanks to its investments in solar and alternative energy. First Solar was one of the sector’s hottest performers.
Top Trade #6: Crown Castle International, American Tower
Firm: Glenview Capital Management
Profit: $319 million
Larry Robbins’ New York-based hedge fund got all the right signals when it targeted the wireless towers sector. The trades crowned a successful year that saw the firm up 24%.
Top Trade #7: CF Industries
Firm: Dawson-Herman Capital Management
Profit: $160 million
Ethanol companies suffered this year, but taking a long view of the biofuels sector helped the New York-based firm cultivate a neat return from the fertilizer company.
Top Trade #8: Onyx Pharmaceuticals
Firm: Meditor Capital Management
Profit: $155 million
Having booked some profits in Onyx at the beginning of the year, the UK-based firm held on to the company’s shares to benefit from a further jump when its cancer drug beat analysts’ estimates.
Top Trade #9: Chipotle Mexican Grill
Firm: Tremblant Capital Group
Profit: $95 million
When other firms were asking for the check, Brett Barakett went back for seconds in this fast-food chain that promises healthy fare and delivered a healthy profit for the $4 billion-plus firm.
Top Trade #10: United Therapeutics Corp.
Firm: Shunway Capital Partners
Profit: $73 million
The New York-based firm gradually increased its stake in United Therapeutics during the year, gaining big-time on good news about the company’s pulmonary hypertension drug.