Soros Exits Barrick Holdings In 4Q; Paulson Trims Gold Position

New York (Feb 15)  Soros Fund Management LLC sold its shares of Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE, TSX: ABX) in the fourth quarter after the fund had more than doubled its Barrick holdings in the previous quarter, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Meanwhile, well-known hedge fund manager John Paulson trimmed his holdings in SPDR Gold Shares, the world's largest exchange-traded fund, filings show.

Institutional investment managers must file a Form 13F-HR, showing their major holdings, with the SEC within 45 days of the end of the quarter.

The most recent filing for Soros Fund Management shows the fund held no shares in Barrick, the world's largest gold producer, as of the end of the fourth quarter. By contrast, the fund had held 2.85 million Barrick shares in the third quarter worth $50.5 billion, which had been a big jump from 1.07 million shares in the second quarter.

As was the case in the third quarter, the SEC filing also showed that Soros held no shares in SPDR Gold. Previously, the fund held 240,000 shares at the end of the second quarter of 2016.

The hedge fund Paulson & Co. held 4.36 million shares in SPDRD Gold as of the end of the fourth quarter, down from 4.78 million shares in the third quarter, the filings show. The value of those shares as of the fourth quarter stood at $478 million, compared to $600 million as of the third quarter.

The filings show Paulson was also exposed to gold through stakes in producers Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Iamgold Corp., Randgold Resources Ltd. and NovaGold Resources Inc.

Source: KitcoNews