The Latest from Harvard Yard

I found this article from Bloomberg with news of the latest filing dated March 31, 2009 but no link to the actual 13f. Shockingly, I was able to find it here and you can compare it to the previous filing from December 31, 2008 here.

The Bloomberg article notes that HMC increased its exposure to China, Brazil and Mexico. Mexico is odd as it seems as though Mexico has become unpopular due to declines in production from the Cantarell Field. From the March low, iShares Mexico (EWW) is up about the same as iShares Emerging (EEM) but EWW was a drag for the first quarter.

In the course of buying and selling the HMC apparently bought 1.47 million shares of News Corp (NWS). Generally speaking, media stocks tend to be later cycle because advertisers are not the first ones in the pool coming out of a recession. Additionally, with so many newspapers closing down, there would seem to be very little reason to buy News Corp here. Of course, it is easy to second guess someone else.

Not mentioned in the Bloomberg piece is that HMC added some exposure to one of my favorite destinations; Chile. It added 2106 shares of what the filing listed as MSCI Chile Index Fund, which I presume is the iShares product that has ticker ECH. It also bought 4100 shares of Santander de Chile (SAN) which I own for clients and 1100 shares Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM).

I've been writing about Chile since early 2005. The story is simple: the country has a lot of copper and the world needs a lot of copper. Fiscally they run a tight ship. The social security equivalent is done via individual accounts and participation is mandatory for people who are on payrolls which create a constant source of demand for equities.

If the theme of US based investors having to buy foreign equities comes true (and I believe it will), then I think Chilean equities would be a big beneficiary.

Comments

[notsosmart:]

harvard?did not a lot of their geniuses give us this mess? or did they get quickly to hide their legacy fortunes abroad in tax free accts.?

May 17 05:12 PM

[Jasper M:]

And did they not themselves lose their shirts in the recent decline?
These are hardly the guys I'd want to follow into battle. I predict more grief for them.

May 17 08:28 PM

[Roger Nusbaum:]

I doubt they are any smarter or dumber than they were three years ago (despite management changes). Like any other manager they get some right and get some wrong. Their structure did not work as well in 2008, clearly, but it is possible that it will work again, probably likely to work again.


On May 17 08:28 PM Jasper M wrote:

> And did they not themselves lose their shirts in the recent decline?
>
> These are hardly the guys I'd want to follow into battle. I predict
> more grief for them.

May 17 10:49 PM

[Jake2:]

". . . probably likely to work again." Can't hang your hat on that, can you?
First two comments above sound like sour grapes, sans facts of any consequence.

May 18 12:33 PM