The world's richest families have sold off $1 billion worth of stocks while the market is at peak value
Investors are reducing the risk of concentration in certain securities, the analyst said
The family offices of four wealthy investors sold out of stocks at the peak of their value / Photo: Serge Yatunin / Shutterstock.com
Ultra-rich investors around the world have opted to lock in some of their profits while stocks are hitting record after record despite geopolitical tensions. In recent weeks, the richest families have sold more than $1 billion worth of securities, according to Bloomberg.
What the family offices were selling
- Maximilian Fissmann, one of the heirs to the German Fissmann dynasty behind heating and air conditioning equipment maker Viessmann, sold about $750 million worth of shares in Florida-based air conditioning equipment maker Carrier Global last week, Bloomberg reported. Carrier's securities have risen 21% since the beginning of the year. A document filed with regulators explained the deal as a "portfolio rebalancing," the agency wrote. It also said Fissmann remains "long-term" committed to the U.S. business.
- Danish tycoon Henrik Lind, according to Bloomberg, got rid of shares of ISS A/S, a management company engaged in integrated maintenance of buildings and workspaces. The value of the package amounted to about $175 million. ISS quotes have added more than 22% since the beginning of January.
- Chris Ellison, founder of Mineral Resources, an Australian mining services company, raised $122.5 million Australian dollars ($87 million) this month by selling about 10% of his stake in it. It was the first reduction in his stake in the company in nearly 10 years, Bloomberg notes. MinRes shares have gained 30% in value since the beginning of the year and more than 230% since December 2017, when Ellison last sold securities.
- Pamela Wall, whose late husband co-founded Australian technology company Codan, reduced her stake in it by nearly a quarter in early Ma in a block deal worth about $312 million Australian dollars. According to a document filed with the regulator, the proceeds will go to support Wall's charitable work, reports said. Codan shares have risen nearly 47% since the beginning of the year. Wall plans to hold the remaining stake for at least another 12 months, Bloomberg writes.
Why super-rich families are selling off assets
Ultra-rich investors are "reducing the risk of concentration in individual stocks," Mark Debois, founder of consulting firm FO-Next, who works with ultra-rich families and their investment structures, explained to the agency. It's a "disciplined decision," he said. Billionaires "retain room for maneuver and reallocate capital on their own terms," Debois noted.
Public company stocks typically take the biggest strategic share in the portfolios of billionaires' investment structures, UBS Group said in a report last year cited by Bloomberg. This month, fund managers were the most overweight in stocks since the start of 2022, approaching the level at which the bank triggers a sell signal, according to Bank of America data .
UBS in a report published on Ma. 28, notes that the world's richest families are reducing investments in dollar assets as geopolitical tensions and rising sovereign debt force them to reassess portfolio risks. According to the study, nearly half of the large investors surveyed concluded that they have excess dollar investments across asset classes. Plans to reduce them reflect a broader review of portfolios with a high concentration in the U.S., the bank found. Family offices plan to increase exposure to emerging market equities and infrastructure projects, while trimming real estate investments.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
