Julian Robertson Long U.S. Tech Stocks: AAPL, GOOG, V, MA

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Sep 19, 2011
One of the more famous hedge fund managers, Julian Robertson, was interviewed last week on CNBC. Robertson’s Tiger Management has delivered nearly 32% annual returns in the period between 1980 and 1998. Robertson disclosed some of his favorite stock picks including Apple (AAPL, Financial), Google (GOOG, Financial), Visa (V, Financial) and Mastercard (MA, Financial).


· Speaking about the European debt crisis Robertson said that “the weak currencies in Europe are — and I’m committed to this — are still good shorts. Things like the Hungarian forint carry a lot of risk with them."


· In terms of currencies that he favors Roberston said, “We are very long the Norwegian krona. We think that's a wonderful currency. And I see other good currencies throughout the world; the Singapore dollar is as strong as it can be. I think the Canadian dollar is a strong currency. Our neighbor to the north, that's a very well-run country."


· When asked about U.S. equity opportunities, Robertson responded, “I think apple — if this were the 1980s, it would be selling at three or four times the price it is now. A company of that kind of caliber, it's almost ridiculous at the multiple it's at now."


· Robertson was also enthusiastic about Google. “Google is very, very attractive."


· Robertson was also bullish on credit card providers. Speaking about Visa he said, “One of the reasons is that the risk of any credit loss there is taken by the banks rather than the credit card companies, the Visas and the Mastercards. I think Visa and Mastercard will continue to grow rapidly in the 20%-plus area for some time to come. “


· Speaking about U.S. bonds Robertson pondered the question of what would happen if rates started to rise. “Suppose some of these foreign owners of our bonds did sell them. The question is, to whom?” Robertson thought that a move up in rates could happen “very dramatically.”