Soros Fund Management buys new stakes in financials

[February 15, 2017]  BOSTON (Reuters) - Soros Fund Management, the firm that invests the personal fortune of billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, took a handful of new positions in financial stocks during the fourth quarter as the sector was buoyed by Donald Trump's presidential victory.

Business magnate George Soros arrives to speak at the Open Russia Club in London, Britain June 20, 2016. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor/File Photo

The New York-based firm disclosed a $14.9 million position in Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and made a new bet on Bank of America <BAC.N> worth $3.9 million. One of its biggest buys during the last three months of 2016 was a call option on the S&P Select Sector SPDR Fund - Financial Sector worth $72.6 million.

A number of asset managers bought into financial stocks during the final months of 2016 after Trump's surprise victory suggested that tax cuts and a reduction of regulatory burdens plus higher interest rates could benefit the financial sector.

Soros recently hired UBS executive Dawn Fitzpatrick to be the firm's chief investment officer, putting a woman in charge of his portfolio for the first time.

Soros sold his entire stake in Procter & Gamble <PG.N>, while Trian Fund Management bought a stake worth $3.5 billion in the company.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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