05/18/09 Baltimore, Maryland Temasek, a Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, sold its entire stake in Bank of America. Heh… ouch!
The state-owned fund declined to comment on the specific sell price, for good reason. Not only did Temasek lose an estimated $4.6 billion on the BoA/Merrill Lynch investment, but the nature of their SEC filing insists they sold their shares before March 31. In other words, they missed out on most of the “bull market” in financials over the last six weeks. Since they sold, shares of BoA are up 66%.
(Note to Temasek fund managers: It’s really never too late to consider a career change. Everybody needs a good bartender.)
Based purely on the horrific timing of Temasek’s investing, both at the entry and exit, we’re forced to wonder… could Bank of America be near a bottom?
Also of interesting note, Temasek used what little money was left to buy shares of China Construction Bank… which perks our short interest in Chinese banks even more.
As SWFs jettison their bank shares, Warren Buffett is scooping them up. Berkshire Hathaway’s latest 13-K revealed hefty purchases in Wells Fargo (a longtime Buffett favorite) and US Bancorp. The world’s most famous investor also picked up shares of Johnson & Johnson and Burlington Northern. He sold sizable chunks of Constellation Energy, ConocoPhillips and CarMax.
Ian Mathias
Ian Mathias is the managing editor of Agora Financial’s Income Franchise, where he writes and researches about retirement, dividend and fixed income investing. Much of his work is featured in The Daily Reckoning and Lifetime Income Report – Agora Financial’s flagship income investing advisory.
Previously, Ian managed The 5 Min. Forecast, a fun, fast-paced daily look into the future of global markets and macroeconomics. He’s also worked in public relations, where media outlets like Forbes, AP, Yahoo! and MSN Money have syndicated his writing. If he’s not at work, you’ll probably find Ian on a bicycle, racing up and down the “mountains” of Baltimore County. Ian has a BA from Loyola University in Maryland.
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