Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller has built up a sizeable position in local banks, and last quarter he made health care stocks his biggest position. The stakes between the two have increased since President-elect Donald Trump was elected two weeks ago. The former lead portfolio manager of George Soros’s Quantum Fund, who now runs his own Duquesne Family Office, sold $115 million in the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) in the third quarter. It purchased $10,000 worth of stock, making it the company’s seventh company. New regulatory filings show it has the largest holding. Meanwhile, Druckenmiller significantly increased his stake in clinical genetic testing company Natera to $453 million, pushing the company to the top of his portfolio at the end of September. That’s more than double the previous $214 million. Banks and health care companies are seen as beneficiaries under President Trump’s administration due to potential deregulation. Regional bank exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are up 12% this month alone, and Natera is up nearly 26% in November. Heading into the presidential election, Druckenmiller said the market was confident of Trump’s victory, and if a Republican captured the White House, that would very likely be a red flag. Republicans ultimately won a majority in the Senate and maintained their majority in the House. KRE YTD Mountain SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF This widely followed investor was recently praised for its big win against major artificial intelligence player Nvidia. He compared the power of AI to the internet and became bullish on the fast-growing industry, making his first acquisition of the chipmaker in 2022. But as Jensen Huang’s company continued to rise, he backed away from winning bets this year, which he later admitted was a “big mistake.” During the third quarter, Duquesne added a small bet worth $41 million on Broadcom in another AI play. Druckenmiller shot to fame in 1992 when he helped lead a $10 billion bet against the British pound. He later oversaw $12 billion as president of Duquesne Capital Management before closing the company in 2010.
