economy
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square USA fund falls sharply in public market debut
The listing gives public investors their first direct stake in Ackman's investment platform, which runs a concentrated portfolio of 10 large-cap names.
TL;DR
- Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management launched a $5 billion IPO, creating two publicly traded entities: Pershing Square USA Ltd. (PSUS) and asset manager Pershing Square Inc. (PS).
- The IPO raised $5 billion, pricing at the lower end of expectations and falling short of earlier ambitions to raise up to $25 billion.
- PSUS closed down 18% on its debut, while PS also ended the day lower.
- The structure allows investors exposure to the underlying portfolio or the management business, with bonus shares linking the two entities.
- Ackman aims to create a Berkshire Hathaway-like platform, offering direct stakes to retail investors and omitting performance fees.
- Pershing Square boasts a long-term return profile of over 2,600% since 2004, significantly outperforming the S&P 500.
- The firm highlighted its history of successful macro hedging, including a profitable Covid-19 related trade.
- The model emphasizes permanent capital to reduce forced selling and enable longer-term positioning.