It would be a shock if Stanley Druckenmiller presented a specific investment idea at Wednesday's Sohn Investment Conference in New York. Since closing his fund, Duquesne Capital, in 2010 to manage his own money under the name Duquesne Family Office, Drukenmiller tends to weigh in on broader economic -- and increasingly political -- topics.
Most recently, Druckenmiller defended the inclusion of fossil fuel investments in Bowdoin College's endowment fund. (Druckenmiller graduated from Bowdoin in 1975 and serves on the college's investment committee.) His argument was posted in The Bowdoin Orient, a student newspaper, and was in response to an op-ed posted by a member of the college's class of 2019. While clarifying that he supports sustainable causes, Druckenmiller explained that his primary objective as a member of the committee is to protect Bowdoin's endowment.
Druckenmiller offered a sobering view of the U.S. economy during an interview on CNBC in March. He said that the economy is unlikely to break free from sluggish growth spurred in part by central bank policy and financial engineering.
"Stock prices are high by historical measures," Druckenmiller said. "Having said that, we have the most aggressive monetary policy we've had since the founding of the Federal Reserve in 1913 so stock prices should be high." Druckenmiller said it would be great if the Fed acted in favor of normalizing rates because acting later puts the U.S. economy at risk because the rise of corporate debt is due in part to lower-for-longer interest rates.
Although Druckenmiller is not likely to discuss specific investment holdings, the long portion of his portfolio, as reported on his most recent 13F filing, includes many tech and defense names. In November, Druckenmiller was effusive about Amazon (AMZN) saying that that the company is investing on the future and crediting CEO Jeff Bezos' history as a "serial monopolist."
Other holdings in Druckenmiller's portfolio are Alphabet (GOOG), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Facebook (FB), and Raytheon (RTN). His portfolio is subject to churn as he shed his positions in Dow Chemical (DOW), EOG Resources (EOG), Expedia (EXPE), Illumina (ILMN), Workday (WDAY) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) between the third and fourth quarter of 2015.
The Sohn Investment Conference, which will be held in New York on May 4, 2016, brings together some of the top minds in the financial world for a day of sharing investment ideas. It is held in honor of Ira Sohn, a Wall Street professional who lost his battle with cancer when he was 29. Proceeds from the New York conference, as well as other conferences the Sohn Conference Foundations holds, are dedicated to the treatment and cure of pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases. The foundation has so far raised more than $65 million.
