AustralianSuper bought almost five million shares in chipmaker Nvidia in the second quarter of this year
AustralianSuper has bought a large number of shares in chipmaker Nvidia in the second quarter of 2024, as the super fund increased its weighting to stocks during the year, reversing an earlier defensive strategy that was based on concerns over the outlook for the global economy.
The $340 billion fund increased its direct stake in Nvidia between the March and June from 43,997, which was then worth US$ 39.8 million, to 4,942,777 shares, which was worth US$610.6 million at the time of filing its 13F holding report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Mark Delaney, Chief Investment Officer of AustralianSuper, told the Australian Financial Review at the publication of its annual performance results in July that there were two key factors affecting returns over the 2023/24 financial year.
Assets that were exposed to higher interest rates, including property, real estate and fixed interest, did poorly, while secular growth sectors, such as technology, did well.
“We were a bit short on stocks at the start of the year because we were concerned about the economic outlook, and that was costly to returns,” he told the paper.
Fund manager Baillie Gifford, an early investor in Nvidia, also increased its stake in the chipmaker during the second quarter by an additional 71,757,065 shares and now owns 82,058,614 shares, SEC filings show.
On the last day of trading of the second quarter, Nvidia’s stock closed at a price of US$123.54, making the stake held by Baillie Gifford in the chipmaker worth more than US$10 billion.
Nvidia’s stock price has had a stellar rise in recent years, partly on the back of high expectations of artificial intelligence and the dominance of Nvidia’s chips in this space. Only five years ago, the company’s stock price was US$4.34. Last week, the company clocked in at over US$125, valuing the company at US$3 trillion.
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