What’s Behind Hedge Fund Miura’s Large USO Stake?
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010Market Folly submits:
Pasco Alfaro’s hedge fund Miura Global Management recently filed a 13G with the SEC regarding shares of the United States Oil Fund (USO). Due to activity on June 29th, 2010 Miura now shows a 7.5% ownership stake in the exchange traded fund with 4,241,000 shares. This is a brand new position for Alfaro’s hedge fund as it did not own shares back on March 31st, 2010 when first quarter portfolio disclosures were made.
What’s interesting here is the fact that the fund has used an exchange traded fund as a proxy for investing in oil rather than directly playing oil futures. Before assessing further, remember that since this is a commodity related investment rather than a stock, the rationale behind the pick might not be what it seems. This could simply be a bullish directional bet on crude oil (in part possibly spurred on by the Gulf oil spill). At the same time, Miura could be using this vehicle as a hedging instrument as the hedge fund often has various alternative energy plays in its portfolio.
