Billionaire Paulson's big gold stake looks lackluster so far

29 June 2009  MarketWatch

Hedge-fund manager John Paulson gained notoriety with his well-timed bets against the housing market, but his big first-quarter push into gold has yet to pan out as inflation fears appear to have been held at bay.

The billionaire manager became the No. 1 holder of SPDR Gold Trust in the first quarter, buying 31.5 million shares, or 8.6%, of that popular exchange-traded fund, according to filings that his firm, Paulson & Co., made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

s of Friday, that $2.84 billion investment would have gained 2% since the end of March, in line with gold prices. In contrast, the U.S.-listed shares of Petro-Canada , of which Paulson bought 10.3 million in the first quarter, have jumped 45% during the second quarter. Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase Co., of which Paulson held 5.8 million, have soared 32% this quarter.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/paulson-bets-on-gold-and-yields-little-so-far?pagenumber=1