Druckenmiller sold Micron and Broadcom before the crash. What did he double down on?

Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office closed out small positions in Micron and Broadcom in the second quarter, which may have spared him from a sharp decline in those stocks. But the billionaire investor has not pulled out of the technology sector: for the first time in at least two years, companies in the sector ranked second and third in Duquesne’s portfolio.

Late last week, Duquesne Family Office disclosed its portfolio holdings as of the end of the second quarter. According to regulatory filings, it sold off small stakes in Micron and Broadcom. This may have helped it avoid selling those stocks during the sell-off in June and July, MarketWatch reports.

In the second quarter, technology and semiconductor stocks experienced a sharp rally, fueled by enthusiasm surrounding spending on artificial intelligence. But in July, many of the stocks that had risen sharply fell sharply: investors began to question whether the high valuations were justified and whether investments in AI infrastructure were sustainable, CNBC notes.

Druckenmiller’s decision to divest from Broadcom and Micron did not mean he was leaving the semiconductor sector. His Duquesne fund increased its stake in contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) by 19%—at the end of the second quarter, the stake was valued at $282 million, according to CNBC. His investment in sensor supplier STMicroelectronics grew by nearly the same amount, with the value of his stake reaching $232 million.

By the end of the quarter, TSMC accounted for 5.4% of the portfolio, and STMicroelectronics for 4.4%. They became Duquesne’s second- and third-largest holdings. Tech stocks haven’t been this prominent in Druckenmiller’s portfolio for at least two years, MarketWatch reports, citing data from Whale Wisdom. Earlier this year, Druckenmiller stated that AI no longer plays a major role in his investment strategy. MarketWatch also notes that several years ago, the investor regretted selling his Nvidia shares too hastily.

The investment strategy wasn’t limited to semiconductors. In the second quarter, Duquesne increased its stake in Amazon to 2.5% of the portfolio. Alphabet returned to the portfolio after Duquesne had fully exited the position in the first quarter: as of June 30, the stake in Google’s parent company was worth $120 million and accounted for 2.3% of the portfolio.

The fund also opened more than a dozen small technology positions, each accounting for less than 1% of the portfolio, including holdings in AMD and Palo Alto Networks. In addition, Duquesne added call options on Tesla and Meta —representing 1% and 0.5% of the portfolio, respectively, according to MarketWatch.

The other major holdings are not directly related to the technology sector. A call option on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, which tracks small- and mid-cap companies, was added to the portfolio. The fifth-largest position was an exposure to the Brazilian market via a call option on the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, according to MarketWatch. Natera, a company specializing in genetic testing, remained the largest publicly traded holding in Druckenmiller’s fund: as of the end of June, the stake was worth more than $800 million and accounted for 16% of the portfolio, CNBC reports.

The financial statements reflect positions as of June 30 only, so it is unclear whether Druckenmiller held onto the disclosed investments during the July sell-off or adjusted them after the end of the quarter, CNBC notes.

Wall Street closely follows Druckenmiller’s decisions. He rose to prominence in 1992 after helping George Soros’s fund place a bet of approximately $10 billion against the British pound. Before Duquesne Capital Management closed and the firm transitioned into a family office in 2010, the investor managed $12 billion in assets.

Forbes estimates Druckenmiller's net worth at $7.8 billion, according to the Forbes Real-Time list, which is updated in real time based on market prices. Druckenmiller ranks 503rd on the list.

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