Stocks are poised to post a banner year — the S & P 500 is up more than 20% — and a few big-name investors are managing to outshine even this stellar market. A strong year-end rally is pushing stocks to record highs and double-digit returns, but navigating the volatility amid macroeconomic uncertainties from war to interest rates is no easy task. Investors are grappling with worries about an economic slowdown, the aftereffect of aggressive rate hikes and surging bond yields and domestic politics. Some succeeded at managing the chaos, while others didn’t. As 2023 approaches its end, CNBC recaps the good, the bad and the ugly. Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman unveiled a short bet against long-term Treasurys in August, betting on elevated yields on the back of “higher levels of long-term inflation.” After yields surged and peaked in Octover, making his bet profitable, Ackman covered the position the same month as he grew worried about geopolitical risks. Pershing Square has returned 25.2% through Dec. 19, beating the S & P 500. The widely-followed investor also scored a win when regulators approved his unique special purpose acquisition company structure, setting him up for a big deal. Cathie Wood is winding down a great year as her holdings of innovative technology stocks staged a dramatic comeback at the back end of 2023 amid declining Treasury yields that further boosted growth stocks. Her flagship Ark Innovation ETF (ARKK) is up 70% this year after a 31% rally in November alone, its strongest month ever since its founding in 2014. The biggest gain came in Coinbase , Wood’s largest holding, accounting for almost 11% of the fund. The cruptcurrency exchange soared almost 400% in 2023. Archer Aviation , DraftKings , Meta Platforms and Palantir also contributed ARKK’s performance. Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn is also on track for a stellar year. His hedge fund returned 27.7% through the third quarter, more than doubling the S & P 500’s. Greenlight’s performance in the fourth quarter isn’t available yet. The star manager previously said he was on “buyer’s strike,” reducing his gross exposure to enable him to deploy capital into specific, new ideas. He also found himself cautious on the broader market because of unpredictable and risky geopolitics. Einhorn’s winning stocks as of late included Consol Energy , Capri Holdings and Black Knight . Warren Buffett’s equity portfolio is wrapping up a solid year as his massive Apple holding soared to a record high in mid-December, making him about $60 billion on paper this year alone. The “Oracle of Omaha” also spent the year adding to his already-huge Occidental Petroleum stake. Over the past two weeks Berkshire bought still more, adding 15 million additional shares of Occidental and pushing its stake to nearly 28% in the wake of Occidental proposed acquisition of CrownRock. Occidental aside, Buffett was mostly in a defensive mode, pushing Berkshire’s cash pile to new heights and selling down big stakes, including Chevron and HP. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway itself have gained about 16% this year on the back of strong operating earnings as well as billions in returns from its Treasury holdings. The stock reached an all-time high in September. Longtime short seller Jim Chanos, who famously called Enron’s demise, finally conceded that his business model is no longer profitable and converted his hedge funds to a family office after nearly four decades. Chanos still believes that this is a golden age of fraud with plentiful short opportunities. “It is no secret that the long/short equity business model has come under pressure and interest in fundamental stock pickers has waned,” Chanos told his investors. Chanos’ short bets against Tesla and Coinbase have been particularly painful in recent years. Tesla more than doubled in 2023. Carl Icahn is wrapping up one of his worst years ever. His Icahn Enterprises conglomerate has plunged 65% in 2023, the worst performer among U.S. companies with a market cap of $5 billion or more, according to FactSet. The massive sell-off came after short seller Hindenburg Research took a public short position last May, alleging “inflated” asset valuations, among other charges. In the aftermath of Hindenburg’s report, federal investigators sought information regarding IEP’s corporate governance, valuation, marketing materials, due diligence and other materials. Icahn’s firm also slashed its quarterly dividend.
