MW Billionaire David Tepper built on his 'everything' China bet as rally faded

By William Watts

Appaloosa added to stakes in Alibaba and JD.com, boosted holdings of China ETFs

It doesn't look like David Tepper was bluffing.

The billionaire founder of Appaloosa Management, who is considered one of the greatest hedge-fund investors of all time, added to his stakes in Chinese companies and exchange-traded funds in the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Monday - even as a rally sparked by an aggressive round of stimulus measures by Beijing was losing steam.

Tepper, who also owns the NFL's Carolina Panthers, made headlines on Sept. 26 when he used an appearance on CNBC to proclaim that he had exceeded his usual trading limits to "buy everything" China-related.

In a quarterly 13-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Appaloosa said it had raised its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. $(BABA)$ (HK:9988) by 18.4% to more than 11.84 million shares. It remained Appaloosa's largest holding at around 15.5% of its $6.7 billion portfolio as of Dec. 31, according to WhaleWisdom.com, a site that tracks regulatory filings.

Appaloosa also raised its stake in JD.com Inc. $(JD)$ (HK:9618) by 43% to more than 10.46 million shares; its holdings of the iShares China Large-Cap ETF FXI by 13.8% to 6.6 million shares; and the KraneShares CSI Internet ETF KWEB by 21.5% to nearly 4.6 million shares.

Large investors are required to disclose long positions in 13-F filings within 45 days of the end of a quarter. Some investors closely track the filings, and investment vehicles often seek to mimic the holdings of high-profile money managers; they can also be watched for signs of broader investing trends. Such tactics come with a set of cautions, including the fact that the information is already dated and the filings may not fully capture an investor's current holdings or strategy.

Tepper's appearance on CNBC came as China-related stocks were soaring, and his remarks were credited with providing the rally with more fuel. Gains soon ebbed, however, amid a lack of follow-through and worries over China's economic outlook and its long-running property-sector crisis.

Tepper - citing single-digit price-to-earnings multiples for Chinese companies alongside "double-digit growth" and large corporate cash stockpiles - said on Sept. 26 that he would "love to see a pullback" and would take advantage of such a dip in prices.

-William Watts

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February 10, 2025 17:46 ET (22:46 GMT)

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