Cantillon Capital and William von Mueffling’s Portfolio Activity

William Alexander von Mueffling is the founder of Cantillon Capital Management. Von Mueffling launched Cantillon Capital in 2003 with $2.5 billion It is among the 6 biggest hedge fund launches. Prior to founding Cantillon Capital Management, William von Mueffling gained considerable success at Lazard Asset Management.

Willis Group Holdings PLC (NYSE:WSH)

Cantillon Capital Management adopts a bottom-up investment approach and has both short and long positions. However, due to the current financial environment and policies regarding printing money, Von Mueffling believes short positions are risky. Cantillon Capital Management has a portfolio with companies mostly belonging to the Technology, Financial and the Consumer Goods sectors. As of June, the top 5 holdings of Cantillon Capital make up more than 65% of the fund’s 13F portfolio.

During the second quarter, Von Mueffling sold off Creditcorp Ltd (BAP). Since the end of June, the company has returned 8%. George Soros’ Soros Fund Management profited from the positive return as Soros increased stake in Creditcorp by 228% during the second quarter (view George Soros’ bullish stock picks).

Von Mueffling reduced Willis Group Holdings (WSH) by 36%, Philip Morris International (PM) by 35% and Unilever by 29%. Since the end of June, Willis Group lost 10% while Philip Morris and Unilever gained 5% each. Here are Cantillon Capital Management’s current holdings at the end of June:

Since the end of June, Oracle Corp (ORCL) lost 19%. Oracle Corp (ORCL) is the largest holding of Cantillon’s 13F portfolio. During the second quarter Von Mueffling increased stake in Oracle by 29%. He has $249 million invested in the company. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management company has the largest stake in Oracle as he has $672 million invested in the company (see Ken Fisher’s current equity portfolio).

Ken Fisher also has the highest stake in Banco Bradesco S A (BBD). Banco Bradesco is the 3rd largest holding of William Von Mueffling’s equity portfolio. During the second quarter he increased Banco by 10%. Since the end of June, the company has returned -18%. Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management also has a stake in BBD (view Cliff Asness’ top holdings).

The second largest holding of Cantillon Capital Management is Coca Cola Co (KO). It makes up 14.1% of Cantillo’s equity portfolio. During the second quarter, Von Mueffling increased his stake in Coca Cola by 9%. Currently, he has $224 million invested in the company. Since the end of June, Coca Cola has returned 4%. The great Warren Buffett has the highest stake in Coca Cola. He has $13 billion invested in Coca Cola which makes up 25.41% of Berkshire Hathaway’s concentrated 13F portfolio (check out Warren Buffett’s favorite stocks).

Von Mueffling’s Cantillon Capital has the highest stake in Analog Devices Inc (ADI). Since the end of June, Analog Devices lost 17%. During the second quarter Von Mueffling increased Analog Devices by 28%. As of now, the company makes up 14.06% of Cantillon’s equity portfolio. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies is one of the top three stakeholders of Analog Devices. He as $78 million invested in the company (take a look at Jim Simons’ top stock picks).

Google Inc (GOOG) and Colgate Palmolive (CL) both realized positive returns since the end of June. Google gained 3% while Colgate Palmolive gained 1%. Both companies are among the top 6 holdings of Cantillon Capital’s 13F portfolio. Before the end of June, Von Mueffling increased stake in Google by 22% and in Colgate Palmolive by 47%. Ken Griffin is also highly bullish about Google and Colgate Palmolive. He increased Colgate Palmolive by 2737% and holds both put and call options of Google. (See the latest stock picks of Ken Griffin)

Most of Cantillon Capital’s stock picks outperformed the market. The ones that didn’t were among Cantillon’s top 4 stock picks.