CBS Corporation (CBS), BP plc (ADR) (BP) Among Howard Guberman and Gruss Asset Management’s Biggest Bets

Howard Guberman is the manager of the New York-based hedge fund, Gruss Asset Management. Guberman has a focus on the Basic Materials and Services sectors. Compared to many of the hedge funds from our database, Gruss Asset Management is overly active in option plays in comparison with its peers.

Insider Monkey has developed a strategy that allows retail investors who follow the activity of the hedge funds we track to outperform their index-focused peers, by as much as 18 percentage points per year over a long-term period (Learn about our strategy here). However, to get you started, we suggest to take a look at our description of what are hedge funds.

But let’s get back to Gruss Asset Management and take a look at the most valuable picks from its equity portfolio. On the first position is CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS), in which the hedge fund holds 1.5 million shares, unchanged from the end of 2012. The value of the stake amounts to $72.6 million. The year-to-date return of CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS)’s stock is above 37%.

On the next position is BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP). Gruss Asset Management disclosed ownership of 1.5 million shares, worth $63.5 million. In the previous round of 13F filings, the hedge fund reported a “call” position in BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP), which involved about 2.5 million shares, worth $104.9 million. BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) is a popular choice among hedge funds, with over 50 holding shares of the company as of the end of March.

The next on the list is General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD), represented in the equity portfolio of Howard Guberman’s hedge fund by a $31.8 million stake, which contains 451,267 shares. The stock of General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE:GD) has a year-to-date return of almost 23%.

In Focus Media Holding Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:FMCN), Gruss Asset Management holds almost 1.2 million shares, worth $31 million. Since the end of 2012, the hedge fund increased its stake in Focus Media Holding Limited (ADR) (NASDAQ:FMCN), from 715,000 shares, valued at $18.4 million.

The last on our list of the fund’s five largest stock picks is Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUB.A). Gruss Asset Management reported a $20.5 million stake, which contains 232,410 shares. Since the beginning of the year, the stock of  Hubbell Incorporated (NYSE:HUB.A) returned about 23.7%.

Gruss Asset Management’s equity portfolio amounts to $674.4 million, and involves over 40 companies, not to mention several option plays. In addition, we’d recommend taking a look at Glenn Greenberg’s Brave Warrior Capital, Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management and Jeffrey Altman’s Owl Creek Asset Management.