Kase Capital Managing Partner Whitney Tilson recently wrote the fund’s annual letter updating partners on the performance of the fund. In 2014, the fund matched the return of the S&P 500 by returning 13.7 percent on the year. Since the fund’s launch in 1999, the Kase Fund has gained 179.1 percent versus the S&P 500’s gain of 125.5 percent.
2014 Top Performers
Among the fund’s top 10 holdings going into 2014, the Kase Fund had big hits with Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR 1.3% (up 64.1 percent in 2014), Micron Technology, Inc. MU 1.97% (up 61.0 percent) and Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. APD 0.99% (up 28.9 percent).
On the short side, the fund profited off of 2014 shorts on ExOne Co XONE 5.27%, Herbalife Ltd. HLF 3.67% and 3D Systems Corporation DDD 0.9%.
2014 Misses
Among the firms blunders in 2014 were long positions in MagicJack Ltd CALL 3.31% (down 31.8 percent), Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. HTZ 0.6% (down 12.9 percent) and Boeing Co BA 2.26% (down 4.8 percent). Short positions in Exact Sciences Corporation EXAS 5.59%, Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc and Keurig Green Mountain Inc GMCR 1.51% also weighed on the fund’s 2014 returns.
2015 Top Picks
The letter listed the Kase Fund’s top holdings for 2015. The top 10 holdings in order of size are listed below.
- 1. Howard Hughes Corp HHC 0.11%
- 2. Platform Specialty Products Corp PAH 0.56%
- 3. Avis
- 4. Pershing Square Holdings Ltd PSHZF 0.71%
- 5. Air Products & Chemicals
- 6. Reading International, Inc. RDI 0.71%
- 7. Samsung Electronics Co SSNLF
- 8. Micron
- 9. JetBlue Airways Corporation JBLU 1.66%
- 10. Delta Air Lines, Inc. DAL 0.53%
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