Billionaire James Packer has more than doubled his investment in the US sharemarket to just shy of $US800m ($1.2bn), taking massive bets on the future of Facebook and chipmaker Nvidia.

The Australian reports the headlong dive into tech and the sudden reshaping of his portfolio has seen about a quarter of his wealth moved into three listed companies – Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms, Nvidia Corporation and software behemoth Adobe.

The overhaul has also resulted in Packer dumping the majority of his previous stock holdings in 24 companies across financial services, hospitality, tourism and private equity-led funds.

But far and away the biggest movement has been Packer’s newly-purchased stake in Meta, owner of Facebook, a play worth $US223.5m.

An explanation for this sudden interest in tech might be the abrupt exits of two long-serving lieutenants from his private vehicle, Consolidated Press Holdings. In December, Packer announced Mike Johnston and Guy Jalland would be replaced with bespoke financial adviser and company director Lawrence Myers.

A flick through what’s filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals a ruthless slashing of stocks, and very much in line with Packer’s stated ambition at the time to simplify the CPH structure and cleave to passive investments.

Meanwhile, his overall plunge in the market has risen sharply, more than doubling from $US363.7m in November to an updated figure of $US796.4m.

Only nine stocks survived the great cull. Tossed out were SAP, Netflix, Expedia and Hilton Worldwide, all of which were turfed while trading at reasonably high historical prices. Ta-ta, as well, to Visa and MasterCard, but also the stakes in Blackstone, Apollo and KKR. Readers will recall that it was Blackstone, in 2022, that purchased Packer’s share of Crown Resorts for $3.3bn.

The freshly added stocks include the three tech giants and a modest flicking of $US2.5m at gold miner Newmont. It’s not much of a hedge, but it can’t hurt.

Modest, too, because Packer’s holding in Nvidia is valued at a whopping $US221.4m and his flutter on Adobe is worth $US215.8m.

On second thought, maybe the tech splurge is down to the influence of American futurist Daniel Nadler, a close associate of Packer and member of the CPH investment committee. Or maybe the billionaire just reads the papers. Nvidia, one of the most talked-about companies on the planet, is up 46 per cent so far this year, with a market cap of about $US1.8 trillion.

Looks like there’s also been a buy-up of more shares in software company Datadog, fintech DLocal and Jack Dorsey’s payment company Block Inc. (formerly Square). This while selling down stock in Duolingo, construction software group Procore Technologies and everyone’s favourite music streamer, Spotify.

No change, however, to Packer’s ownership of Fiverr International, Monday.com and Paramount Global, which owns Network 10 – other than Paramount’s increase in value from $US81m in November to $US93m.

When asked about his investment decisions, Packer replied: “No comment”.

 

The Terminator

An enormous apology landed in the inboxes of every MP and parliamentary staffer in Canberra on Wednesday after a grievous flub by the cardigans in the back office of the Finance Department.

And judging by the extent of the grovelling, the self-flagellating, the incident clearly caused a collective coronary in the nation’s capital, proving perhaps once and for all that federal politicians actually do have blood pumping through their veins.

The crisis unfolded mid afternoon when Ministerial and Parliamentary Services dispatched a note to almost every person in the building, titled “Automatic Termination of Employment”. Barnaby Joyce was the only person genuinely expecting it.

But, no, it wasn’t intended to notify anyone that they’d lost their jobs; it was just a clumsy FYI concerning a legal amendment to employment agreements. And while the details of this adjustment were anodyne and yawn-inducing, the language itself was still terrifying.

“In the event your employment is terminated due to a trigger under the Act, you will be contacted and provided with information relating to deferral periods and final entitlements, as well as supports (sic) available,” it said.

What followed was a Tour de France of back-pedalling, if we may borrow that term from the recently departed Martin Amis, when a couple of hours later an updated email was finally issued, to everyone’s relief. “We sincerely apologise to all staff and parliamentarians who may have been impacted upon receiving the email below,” it said, with numbers listed for support services and counselling.

“The subject line used for this email was poorly worded and may have led to the advice being interpreted by some individuals as a notification of the termination of employment.

“Again, we sincerely apologise for any the distress (sic) and concern this may have caused and have taken this feedback on board to ensure future communications are as clear as possible.”

 

Big names pile in

Imagine an old band getting back together, but now picture Melbourne’s slickest bankers and brokers and deal-making takeover artists uniting like an eighties supergroup to rev up the corporate scene.

Well, they’re all back from their salad days for a newly-minted fund management firm called Australian Wealth Advisors Group, scheduled to list on the ASX on Friday. It’s being expertly corralled under the guiding hand of Melbourne fund manager Lee IaFrate. He sold his boutique Armytage Private into AWAG some time ago and has already closed off a $5m raising which, we’re informed, was easily oversubscribed.

That makes him the executive chairman of this partnership, but on the board with him is former AFL chairman and former Carlton footballer Mike Fitzpatrick, along with Paul Young, founder of Baron Partners and a one-time adviser to Reagan-era entrepreneur John Spalvins. Former Lonsdale Financial Group CEO Mark Stephen, erstwhile of AMP and

IOOF, is in the mix too. And just take a look at the share register! With nicknames like these it’s like they’ve walked off the page of a Fargo script. There’s David Slack, co-founder of County NatWest, who went on to create Portfolio Partners with the blessing of billionaires like James Packer, and guys like Tom “The Black Cat” Klinger, dubbed as such for his habit of prowling the corporate scene. Peter “The Red Bullet” Hollick is there, too, that macher of the broking business, as well as Steve Sedgeman, who’s SPAL Management was once an adviser to the late box magnate Richard Pratt.

Shall we continue? Remember Greg Hayes, former boss of wealth adviser Diverger? Or Patrick Elliott, former Macquarie Bank executive and who founded private equity firm Next Capital?

What are all these deep pockets and backers doing in a micro-cap that’s raised a humble $5m? Hard to tell! In any case, IaFrate will ring the bell about 11am. It might as well be a starter’s pistol for lazy boards.

“But there is more work to do; the job’s not done. It might be that there has to be more rate rises, but there might not be,” she said, describing the risks to the outlook as “broadly balanced”.

 

This story was originally published by The Australian.

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