Ken Fisher (Trades, Portfolio) founded Fisher Investments in 1979 and selects stocks he believes will benefit from his analysis of global macroeconomic, political and sentiment factors.
His diversified portfolio contains 582 stocks, 78 of which are new buys in the fourth quarter, according to his new portfolio released today. The portfolio has a total value of $48.4 billion, and has its greatest weighting in Financial Services at 23.1%, followed by Technology at 16.1%.
In his January column for Forbes, “Why foreign stocks are primed for a comeback,” Fisher discussed his macroeconomic views:
“Am I confident foreign will lead, here and now? No. Were I, I’d be foreign-only–and a fool. Timing is always tricky. Hence stay globally diversified. It provides a more stable path to get you to that same very long-term equity return.”
His fourth quarter stock picking mirrored his statements in his article. All of Fisher’s top five new buys were foreign-based companies. The top five buys were: UBS Group AG (UBS, Financial), ABB Ltd. (ABB, Financial), Magnit PJSC (LSE:MGNT, Financial), Linde AG (LNEGY, Financial) and iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund ETF (EWG, Financial).
Fisher purchased 24,732,456 shares of UBS Group AG, a 0.87% weighted portfolio holding. The company’s share price averaged $17 in the fourth quarter.
UBS AG was formed on June 29, 1998, when Union Bank of Switzerland (founded 1862) and Swiss Bank Corporation (founded 1872) merged to form UBS AG. UBS Group Ag has a market cap of $62.61 billion; its shares were traded at around $16.68 with a P/E ratio of 16.70 and P/S ratio of 2.0. The dividend yield of UBS Group AG stocks is 1.70%.
Fisher purchased 7,440,894 shares of ABB Ltd., a 0.33% portfolio weight. The company’s share price for the quarter averaged $22.
ABB Ltd. was formed in 1988 through a merger between Asea AB and BBC Brown Boveri AG. ABB Ltd. has a market cap of $43.56 billion; its shares were traded at around $19.14 with a P/E ratio of 18.20 and P/S ratio of 1.10. The dividend yield of ABB Ltd. stocks is 4.0%. ABB Ltd. had an annual average earnings growth of 4.90% over the past 10 years.
Magnit PJSC (LSE:MGNT, Financial)
Fisher purchased 2,698,794 shares of Magnit PJSC, a 0.25% portfolio weight. The company’s share price averaged £56 for the fourth quarter.
Magnit PJSC, formerly known as OJSC Magnit, was incorporated in Krasnodar, the Russian Federation, in November 2003. Magnit PJSC has a market cap of $18.05 billion; its shares were traded at around $38.20 with a P/E ratio of 15.90 and P/S ratio of 0.98. The dividend yield of Magnit PJSC stocks is 1.05%. Magnit Pjsc had an annual average earnings growth of 39.70% over the past five years.
Fisher purchased 4,626,364 shares of Linde AG, a 0.18% portfolio weight. The company’s share price averaged $19 in the fourth quarter.
Linde AG is a gases and engineering company. It is an international technology Group, which has engaged in each of its three business segments, Gas and Engineering, and Other segments. Linde AG has a market cap of $35.52 billion; its shares were traded at around $19.13 with a P/E ratio of 27.70 and P/S ratio of 1.88. The dividend yield of Linde AG stocks is 1.50%. Linde AG had an annual average earnings growth of 5.70% over the past 10 years.
iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund ETF (EWG, Financial)
Fisher purchased 941,819 shares of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund ETF in the fourth quarter, giving it a 0.053% portfolio weight. The ETF’s share price averaged $27 for the quarter.
iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (ETF) has a market cap of $4.32 billion; its shares were traded at around $28.05 . The dividend yield of iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (ETF) stocks is 3.10%.
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