Morningstar: Chou Cash Reserve Up to 40.4%

Rudy Luukko reports on Francis Chou's latest moves for Morningstar (MORN) in Canada:

But the ever-cautious Chou, as shown in unaudited year-end holdings that he provided to Morningstar last week, is also holding a significantly higher percentage of cash than he did a year earlier. At 40.4%, the cash reserve is up sharply from 25.7% a year earlier for the brisk-selling fund, whose assets have soared by 89% over the 12 months ended Jan. 31.

The article also discusses the shifting country-weightings you'll see over time in a global fund:

As recently as the end of 2001, the fund held 50.9% of its assets in Canadian securities, versus 27.8% in the U.S., with the rest in cash. This allocation proved to be very timely heading into 2002 and the depths of a U.S. bear market, when the Standard & Poor's 500 Total Return (C$) plunged by 22.7% during the year.

Currently Chou Associates Fund has less than 2% in Canadian stocks, with US holdings accounting for more than 37%. His fund has 20.5% in non-North American stocks.