William Ackman
Bill Ackman runs hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, which he started in 2003 following the dissolution of Gotham Partners.
Ackman is a value investor with an activist bent. Activist investors agitate management for changes. He owns large positions in Target (NYSE: TGT) and Borders (NYSE: BGP). He has also been involved in activist situations at Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD).
Ackman proved his acumen as a short seller in 2007/2008 as short positions he held in MBIA (NYSE: MBI) and Ambac (NYSE: ABK) proved to be big winners due to the credit crunch.
In July 2008, Ackman said he was short the common stock of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). Ackman also laid out a plan to reorganize the GSEs, which would wipe out the common shareholders.
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Ackman's Pershing Square Loads Up On More Yum Brands (YUM) Brands, Discloses His Kraft (KFT) Position
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Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Q4 13F Breakdown: Takes Some Profit in Target, Adds Positions in Hyatt, Landry's
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Ackman's Pershing Square 13F; Shows New Stakes in Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA)
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Bill Ackman Cashes In On Fannie, Freddie Short (FNM, FRE)
