Jim Simons founded Renaissance Technologies in 1982. The fund’s returns are so spectacular that Simons became one of the richest people in the world. The hedge fund employs high frequency trading and exploits inefficiencies in the stock market. Simons has a B.S. in Mathematics from MIT and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics from U.C. Berkeley.
We like Simons and we believe that by imitating his stock picks, investors are more likely to beat the market. Additionally, we encourage investors to play defensively as we are concerned about the Fed’s inflationary monetary policy.
Below, we compiled a list of defensive stocks in Simons’ recent portfolio. All companies have Total Debt / Equity ratio of below 0.8 and beta of lower than 0.9. The market data is sourced from Finviz.
Company | Ticker | Value (x1000) | D/E | Beta | YTD Return |
LILLY ELI | 387873 | 0.47 | 0.76 | 10.08% | |
PROCTER & GAMBLE | 253112 | 0.47 | 0.48 | 0.83% | |
EXXON MOBIL | 227245 | 0.11 | 0.51 | 2.92% | |
NOVO NORDISK A S | 221194 | 0.04 | 0.53 | -11.58% | |
BRISTOL MYERS | 207290 | 0.34 | 0.56 | 28.20% | |
COCA COLA | 140340 | 0.75 | 0.58 | 1.77% | |
AMGEN INC | 139702 | 0.54 | 0.45 | 1.88% | |
VODAFONE | 127863 | 0.44 | 0.85 | 3.13% | |
NOVARTIS | 125065 | 0.41 | 0.56 | -2.53% | |
NEWMONT MINING | 112943 | 0.3 | 0.33 | 3.75% | |
BIOGEN IDEC INC | 102896 | 0.2 | 0.77 | 47.22% | |
A T & T INC | 94637 | 0.58 | 0.64 | 2.05% | |
FAMILY DOLLAR | 89063 | 0.5 | 0.21 | 7.36% | |
PANERA BREAD | 88087 | 0 | 0.73 | 4.80% | |
APOLLO GROUP | 82813 | 0.14 | 0.2 | 6.91% | |
JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 80795 | 0.3 | 0.59 | 3.52% | |
CHEVRON CORP | 77766 | 0.1 | 0.78 | 6.17% | |
ST JUDE MEDICAL | 73523 | 0.53 | 0.73 | -11.89% | |
ILLUMINA INC | 65051 | 0.68 | 0.63 | -36.83% | |
TECHNE CORP | 64478 | 0 | 0.73 | 7.17% | |
B M C SOFTWARE | 61450 | 0.2 | 0.72 | -15.13% | |
CEPHALON INC | 60863 | 0.33 | 0.39 | 31.24% | |
AMERIGROUP | AGP | 60125 | 0.2 | 0.79 | -7.56% |
MAGELLAN HEALTH SERV | 58315 | 0 | 0.56 | 1.95% | |
WATSON PHARMA | WPI | 51321 | 0.37 | 0.43 | 27.47% |
Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY): Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, manufactures and sells pharmaceutical products. Simons increased his position in LLY by 59% to $388 million during the second quarter. LLY has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.76. It has a market cap of $42.9B, a P/E ratio of 8.69, and returned 10.08% since the beginning of this year.
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG): P&G is a company focused on providing consumer packaged goods. Simons initiated a brand new $253 million of PG stocks during the second quarter. PG has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.48. It has a market cap of $174B, a P/E ratio of 16.12, and returned 0.83% since the beginning of this year. Warren Buffett invested $4.9 billion in PG (check out Warren Buffett’s top stock picks).
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM): Exxon Mobil is a manufacturer and marketer of commodity petrochemicals. Simons increased his position in XOM by 66% to $227 million during the second quarter. XOM has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.11 and a beta of 0.51. It has a market cap of $360B, a P/E ratio of 9.72, and returned 2.92% since the beginning of this year. Ken Fisher had $584 million invested in XOM.
Novo Nordisk A S (NVO): Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company. Simons increased his position in NVO by 26% to $221 million during the second quarter. NVO has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.04 and a beta of 0.53. It has a market cap of $66.7B, a P/E ratio of 20.1, and lost 11.58% since the beginning of this year. Ken Fisher also had $57 million of NVO stocks.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY): Bristol-Myers Squibb Company is engaged in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sale of pharmaceutical products on a global basis. Simons increased his position in BMY by 53% to $207 million during the second quarter. BMY has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.56. It has a market cap of $55.8B, a P/E ratio of 17.05, and returned 28.20% since the beginning of this year. Samuel Isaly also invested over $100 million in BMY.
Coca Cola Co. (KO): The Coca-Cola Company is a non-alcoholic beverage company. Simons decreased his position in KO by 40% to $140 million during the second quarter. KO has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.58. It has a market cap of $150B, a P/E ratio of 12.25, and returned 1.77% since the beginning of this year. Warren Buffett invested over $13 billion in KO.
Amgen Inc. (AMGN): Amgen is an independent biotechnology medicines company. Simons increased his position in AMGN by 58% to $140 million during the second quarter. AMGN has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.45. It has a market cap of $51.7B, a P/E ratio of 11.63, and returned 1.88% since the beginning of this year. Ric Dillon had $88 million invested in AMGN stocks.
Vodafone Group Plc NEW (VOD): Vodafone is a mobile communications company operating across the globe providing a range of communications services. Simons significantly increased his position in VOD by 2652% to $128 million during the second quarter. VOD has a total debt to equity ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.85. It has a market cap of $139B, a P/E ratio of 11.2, and returned 3.13% since the beginning of this year. Boykin Curry and Mason Hawkins both invested more than $200 million in VOD (check out Curry’s top stock picks).
