"Chinese Buffett" earns another 15 billion in six months!

In the English investment world, Warren Buffett is considered a "hero". With extremely high investment capabilities, he is willing to teach ordinary people and donate to charity.

In Chinese investment forums, Duan Yongping is the closest figure to "Buffett". He is recognized for his investment abilities and wealth (although the exact amount is unknown to the public), and he is also willing to share his insights with investors and answer their questions.

Recently, Duan Yongping, who is becoming more and more famous in the Chinese online community, has encountered two incidents:

Firstly, he once again disclosed his actual trading on the investment forum, attempting to sell some Tencent put options (similar to buying stocks, Duan Yongping has always used this method to invest in Tencent).

Another piece of news is about the latest institutional holding of H&H International Investment, LLC (referred to as "H&H Investment" below). Their latest U.S. stock holding size is $16.632 billion, which has increased by nearly $2.2 billion compared to the beginning of the year, equivalent to about 15.7 billion RMB.

With holdings of over a hundred billion funds and the ability to consistently make significant profits from investments, Duan Yongping may be the strongest Chinese investor in terms of profit-making ability in the past six months.

Total holdings close to 120 billion RMB

According to the information publicly disclosed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as of June 30, 2024, an institution named H&H International Investment, LLC has a latest U.S. stock holding size of $16.632 billion.

The asset size of this institution is equivalent to nearly 120 billion RMB.

The declaration documents show that Eric Hu serves as the Chief Compliance Officer of this institution, and judging from the name, he is a Chinese.

In the business registration information of this investment institution on other platforms, it is indicated that the company has two owners, including YONGPING DUAN in addition to the aforementioned individual.

Judging from the spelling of the name, it is consistent with the well-known Chinese investor Duan Yongping, and the latter has never publicly confirmed or denied the relationship between the two.

Continuous growth in scale

Analyzing the disclosure documents of H&H Investments, it can be found that the institution has very strong financial strength.

The first time this institution disclosed its holdings in US stocks to the SEC dates back to the end of the fourth quarter of 2018, with a corresponding scale of $836 million.

In just two years (by the end of the fourth quarter of 2020), H&H Investments' holdings had grown to $7.017 billion.

By the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, H&H Investments surpassed the $10 billion mark, and the scale continued to expand.

For an investment company with only two employees, the astonishingly rapid growth curve has filled the outside world with surprise and anticipation.

Where Does the Funding Come From?

Observing the historical holdings of this fund, it can be seen that its expansion mainly comes from two aspects: external capital injection and profits from holdings.

In terms of capital injection, from 2018 to 2020, H&H Investments' scale grew eightfold. For such a large amount of capital, a ninefold increase in two years may seem a bit demanding, so it is reasonable to assume that there was capital injection during this period.

However, looking at the first half of 2024, the vast majority of the asset appreciation managed by this institution should come from investment profits.

Simply put, looking at the stock price of its largest holding (accounting for over 80%), Apple, it appreciated by 10% in the first half of this year.

The second largest holding, BKR (Buffett's flagship investment), saw an increase of nearly 13%.

When factoring in other major holdings (see the image below), it is already very close to the growth rate of this institution's assets.

Why Bet on Apple

So why did H&H bet on Apple?

Duan Yongping recently stated in a Chinese investment community:

"We have been holding Apple for so many years, and there are always people around saying: it's so difficult for you! Am I having a hard time?! What's so difficult about it? What could be easier than this?"

He also mentioned that investing in Apple was a decision made after a sudden "enlightenment" one day, because for this stock, he also outlined his own stock selection criteria - business model, corporate culture, and price.

Challenging "Buffett"

Another interesting detail is that, although known as the Chinese Buffett, Duan Yongping outperformed both in operations and in the second quarter of 2024.

During that quarter, Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, reduced its Apple holdings by nearly half. In total, Buffett has reduced over 500 million shares of Apple stock this year, worth about $84 billion.

However, compared to the end of the first quarter of 2024, H&H under Duan Yongping's leadership only reduced its Apple holdings by about 1%.

Interested in Tencent and Alibaba?

Duan Yongping, who likes to hold long-term positions, has significantly increased his holdings in Alibaba, but he still prefers Tencent on the forum.

Duan Yongping has mentioned on social media multiple times that he has bought shares in this company, but he also mentioned that the actual holding amount is relatively low.

In January of this year, he once said: "In ten years, among the companies that are still around, Apple, Maotai, and Tencent should all still be here."

A few days ago, Duan Yongping expressed some "regret" online:

"Tencent in the US stock market does not have options." He emphasized that Tencent ADR does not have options, which prevents him from using options to operate on a company he continues to be optimistic about.

Looking back further, in August 2022, when Tencent's ADR price was continuously falling, Duan Yongping bought at least 100,000 shares near $37. In December 2023, he stated that he bought 200,000 shares of Tencent ADR at a cost around $41. He also mentioned that he will continue to buy.

In December 2023, he also said: "Tencent cannot sell put options, it's difficult to take action. The major shareholder in South Africa is highly likely to continue reducing holdings for a considerable period in the future. It would be great if we could sell some put options."

On August 15, 2023, after half a year, Duan Yongping posted again to show his actions: "Just bought some Tencent. It's really troublesome without selling put options. I've changed the order several times, and I can't even buy ten thousand shares each time I place an order."

After all the twists and turns, he started buying Tencent again