Wind down of Delivering Alpha: A Recap
Here’s the things that stood out most to me from the Delivering Alpha conference.
Bill Ackman and Nelson Peltz have a sit down. Peltz has two positions that make up about a third of its capital. One is in the industrial space. Ackman has a position that accounts for 15% of its capital.
Bill Ackman talked Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a bit, calling it the most exciting positions he has. Ackman also noted that every company he owns is a platform company. Peltz chimed in by noting that he hopes Pentair can become some sort of platform company.
Peltz said of McDonald’s that the culture and mindset of the company has to be turned upside down and that it’ll take years for a turnaround.
The real estate plays were popular among activists. Starboard Value announced a new stake in Macy’s – wanting to spinoff its owned-real estate, Sandell Asset Management wants Ethan Allen to monetize its real estate. Corvex Management touted an activist target it has had since 2014, American Realty Capital.
DoubleLine’s Gundlach says Fed won’t hike rates in 2015. He also notes that if he had a 50 year time horizon he’d invest in the Indian stock market. He also said high-yield bonds are going to be “a debacle in three or four years”
Bill Miller talked about airlines and homebuilders. No real surprise. Airlines one of his biggest holdings and it’s a “long-term secular” bet. Homebuilders should earn 25% a year.
Carl Icahn and Blackrock’s Larry Fink was a catfight. Icahn called Blackrock an extremely dangerous company. This based on their involvement in highly illiquid ETFs. Yet, both Icahn and Fink agreed that M&A was getting done at “expensive” valuations. Fink does get some shots in re: activism, calling it too short-term and that companies are offering up buybacks too easily when activists show up.
