Lansdowne’s Ruddock Knighted for Philanthropy

Hedge fund manager Paul Ruddock, co-founder and chief executive of Lansdowne Partners was “knighted in the New Year’s honours list for his philanthropy and service to the arts,” reports the Financial Times. Sir Paul Ruddock has given half a million pounds to the Conservative Party and is chairman of the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A). He also gave £5m to the V&A and £3 to the British Museum’s new medieval gallery.

Ruddock, who manages the $7.46-billion Lansdowne with Steve Heinz, “controversially took short positions in Northern Rock and HBOS at the height of the credit crunch.”

The Financial Times writes, “his hedge fund was among several criticized during the financial crisis of three years ago for shorting bank stocks.”

Financials, which were the worst performing stocks in 2011, still figure prominently in the Lansdowne portfolio. The fund’s third largest holding is Wells Fargo & Co New (WFC). It had $696.34 million invested in the company at the end of the third quarter, or roughly 9.33% of its portfolio, after increasing its stake by +3%. Lansdowne also has a significant position in Jpmorgan Chase & Co(JPM) after increasing its holding by +219% in the company during the third quarter. The fund has around 9.18% of its portfolio invested in JPM, in a stake valued at over $685.22 million. It is its fifth largest holding. Lansdowne also has significant positions in Citigroup Inc (C) and U S Bancorp Del (USB).