Value Guru Whitman Ups Selected Stakes

• By the tickerspy.com Staff
• On 9:10 am EDT, Tuesday August 25, 2009

Marty Whitman, the legendary value investor who runs mutual fund firm Third Avenue Management, signaled his confidence in the market (and his own stock-picking abilities) by pouring $3 million into his firm's flagship Third Avenue Value Fund (Nasdaq: TAVFX - News) during late 2008 and early 2009.

The bet continues to look prescient, with the fund up around 30% year to date. Curtis Jensen, Third Avenue's co-chief investment officer, told Investment News in May that the firm uses an investment approach that "focuses on buying things that are sensibly valued and well-financed, especially in this environment."

So, which stocks fit the bill in the minds of Third Avenue's managers?

Looking at Third Avenue's top-15, U.S.-listed, equity holdings, which are aggregated across all its funds, one can see that the firm was increasing its holdings in a number of its largest stakes during Q2, including waste management firm Covanta (NYSE: CVA - News), drilling contractor Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR - News), diversified conglomerate Leucadia (NYSE: LUK - News), communications equipment maker Sycamore Networks (Nasdaq: SCMR - News), and Korean steelmaker Posco (NYSE: PKX - News), which was Third Avenue's largest U.S.-listed, equity stake at the end of Q2.

Third Avenue's next largest stake was in Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM - News), where the firm was trimming shares during Q2. Third Avenue was also trimming stakes in communications equipment firm Tellabs (Nasdaq: TLAB - News), The Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK - News), and independent oil and gas producers Encana (NYSE: ECA - News) and Cimarex Energy (NYSE: XEC - News).

Looking at tickerspy.com's graph charting the performance of Third Avenue's end-of-Q2 holdings during the current quarter, one can see that the holdings have been even with the market. If you want to see how your performance stacks up to Third Avenue's or see some of its other holdings, visit tickerspy.com to see the firm's top holdings and a chart of their combined performance.

Pro portfolio performance is based on institutions' top-15 holdings as disclosed in quarter-end filings with the SEC. Pro performance does not take into account additional holdings beyond the top 15 nor does it include positions that are not required to be disclosed by the SEC. As such, Pro portfolio performance should be considered an approximation and not a precise record of how an institution has performed over time.

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