Eddie Lampert is the founder of ESL Investments, a hedge fund with close to $6 billion in stated assets, which manages RBS Partners.
The fund just filed a 13F with the SEC. The hedge fund is extremely concentrated, with five positions making up almost the entire portfolio.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) is the largest holding of Eddie Lampert. Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) makes up 45% of the portfolio, and the fund holds 43 million shares. The retailer has not been doing well lately, as the stock is down over 30% since May 2011. Eddie Lampert is by far the largest shareholder of the company, with over 40% of shares outstanding. Sears recently announced a spin off in an attempt to raise money.
The second largest holding of ESL is AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN). The hedge fund owns 48 million shares of the car dealership. AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) represnets 30% of the hedge fund’s holdings. Lampert is also the largest shareholder of the company, owning 30% of outstanding shares. No changes were reported for the holding in the second quarter.
The third largest holding is The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS). With 29 million shares held, The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) makes up 13% of the hedge fund’s portfolio. The stake in The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) was reduced by 5% in the quarter. This might have to do with redemptions, which the hedge fund is facing from investors.
Eddie Lampert owns 730,000 shares AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO). The holding now, is less than 5% of ESL’s portfolio. The holding was reduced by over 60% in the recent quarter. In 2009, Lampert owned over 23 million shares of the auto parts company. Since that time, the fund has been reducing its stake in AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO).
Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF) is the fifth largest stake. Lampert owns 4.4 million shares, which make up over 4% of the hedge fund’s portfolio. The stake was reduced by five percent in the second quarter.
Other holdings include CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT) (unchaged), Genworth Financial Inc (NYSE:GNW) increased by 28%, iStar Financial Inc. (NYSE:SFI) increased by 94%, Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) new purchase, Seagate Technology PLC (NASDAQ:STX) reduced by 53%, Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE:BIG) reduced by 4%, and Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp (NASDAQ:OSH (a spin-off from Sears) reduced by 23%
Disclosure: Long CIT
