Pershing Square Capital

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital runs one of the most concentrated activist hedge fund books in public markets - typically 8 to 12 positions, long-biased, with hedge overlays expressed via index put-spreads when Ackman wants tail protection. The book is famously transparent: Ackman discloses major position changes on X (formerly Twitter) in real time, often before the 13F-HR catches up, and runs activist campaigns where Pershing Square publicly disclosed its thesis (Howard Hughes Holdings, Chipotle, Restaurant Brands, the failed 2015 Valeant campaign).

The current 13F book reflects Ackman's preference for restaurant-and-consumer-discretionary compounders (Chipotle, Restaurant Brands, Hilton, Nike), high-quality real estate (Howard Hughes - where Ackman is also chairman), and selective mega-cap tech (Alphabet, added in 2023 on the long-thesis that YouTube + Cloud + Search re-rates as AI matures). Brookfield Corporation is the alternatives-platform position with the longest tenure. The book turns slowly: positions typically hold 3-5 years.

For traders, Pershing Square's 13F is more useful as an activist-targeting signal than as a directional snapshot. When Ackman files a new position, it usually means a public activist campaign is imminent - the playbook is to take a 5%+ stake, publish the thesis, and then engage management or the board publicly. The 13F is the legally required trailing indicator of moves Ackman has often already telegraphed.