Fund managers are required to inform the regulator when they build up a short position worth 0.5 per cent of a stock and then when they subsequently reduce or increase it.FCA figures show that Odey’s funds have been betting against emerging market fund managers and newspapers among others over the past few months.
Aberdeen Asset Management
Odey currently has a short position in Aberdeen worth 2.01 per cent of the latter’s shares, according to FCA figures.
Aberdeen Asset Management was one of the darlings of the stock market in the 18 months prior to the emerging markets sell-off of last May.
The stock was one of the best-performers on the FTSE 100 in 2012, according to FE Analytics, appreciating by 79.84 per cent.
Its meteoric rise was interrupted only by the talk of tapering of quantitative easing in the US last spring, at which point it plummeted.
Performance of stock vs index over 2yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The company has acquired UK-centric asset management business Scottish Widows in an attempt to diversify into this country, but the health of the stock still seems to be dependent upon the direction of emerging markets.
It is down 22 per cent in the year-to-date, compared with losses of 2.45 per cent for the MSCI Emerging Markets index and gains of 1.82 per cent for the FTSE.
It is currently trading on a forward P/E ratio of 12 times. The All Share trades on 14.4 times.
Ashmore
Ashmore is another emerging markets focused fund manager to have suffered as sentiment to those regions has waned.
Odey’s bet against Ashmore is even larger: according to the FCA, he is selling short 3.73 per cent of the company.
Ashmore is down 22.11 per cent year-to-date and 12.1 per cent over 12 months. In February it reported profits in its first half of trading were down 34 per cent in sterling terms on the year before.
Performance of stock vs indices over 1yr
Source: FE Analytics
The company saw $2.1bn of net outflows during the period, and was also hit by currency movements.
Odey last added to his short last Monday, according to the FCA, but has steadily increased it from 2.5 per cent at the end of January.
Trinity Mirror
Odey’s funds have a short position worth 3.73 per cent of Trinity Mirror, which they last added to on 18 February. The position will be hurting it at the moment, with the shares having surged ahead over the past couple of months.
They are now up 92.06 per cent over a year.
Performance of stock vs index over 1yr
Source: FE Analytics
The company’s shares have struggled for years, after losing 95 per cent of their value after the financial crisis and a collapse in the advertising market. Local newspapers in particular struggled during this period and many collapsed or were merged.
The rising cost of newsprint and the collapse in the numbers of paper publications being bought have also hit the company.
The current rebound follows improving performance in digital revenues in particular which were announced last month.
However, the company was forced to write down £225m on goodwill and other intangibles and £700m on its subsidiaries thanks to an increase in assumptions used to calculate the discount rate, which the company is seeking a court order to exclude from its accounts.
Manchester United
Impressively, Odey’s short on Manchester United was put on prior to the club’s collapse in form after Christmas, raising the question whether the manager is also an expert judge of a football team.
According to the FCA, Odey took out a position worth 0.8 per cent of the company’s shares on 11 December last year. Shares dropped 10.7 per cent over the course of the next week, and are currently 11.6 per cent down from their 11 December price of $16.98.
Manchester United is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but the Glazer family has retained a controlling stake.
The family retains all of the B share class, which have 10 times the votes of the A share class offered on the market.
