Ackman predicts that Trump will promote the privatization of "the two GSEs"! Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae stocks surged over 30% on the news

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Bill Ackman, founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square and American billionaire investor, stated on Monday Eastern Time that Donald Trump, the next U.S. president set to return to the White House in January, may lift the U.S. government's holding and regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which survived the 2008 financial crisis. If Trump pushes for the privatization of the "two GSEs" during his second presidential term, it could make them private companies again and potentially allow them to independently list on the U.S. stock market as private entities, rather than continue to be under U.S. government control.

After Ackman posted this on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Fannie Mae's stock price surged over 36% by the close of the OTC market, while Freddie Mac's stock price rose over 33%. According to Ackman's latest post, known for his foresight in the U.S., he believes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may escape U.S. government control and regulation within the next two years, which could pave the way for them to independently list on the U.S. stock market around 2026.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-controlled and directly regulated, but operate as for-profit companies that can have some private shareholders. Their core mission is to promote liquidity in the U.S. housing market by purchasing home loans from private lending institutions and repackaging them into mortgage-backed securities, thereby expanding the U.S. housing loan market. They also provide institutional consulting and analysis services, offering exclusive professional consulting and research reports for the U.S. real estate industry.

During the 2008 global financial crisis, when the U.S. real estate market completely collapsed, these types of real estate companies suffered massive losses. To avoid a catastrophic and irreparable impact on the U.S. economy, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were officially taken over by government departments led by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Housing Finance Agency during the 2008 financial crisis, and were placed under the full supervision of the newly established Federal Housing Finance Agency.

In the 2008 financial crisis, the so-called "two GSEs"—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—faced severe financial crises due to holding a large amount of subprime mortgages. As the real estate market collapsed, both companies incurred huge losses. On September 7, 2008, the U.S. government announced the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to prevent their bankruptcy from causing greater shocks to the entire financial system, and the U.S. government provided up to $200 billion in funding support to ensure the continued operation of these two companies.

During the 2008 financial crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were at the "eye of the storm." Due to their significant position in the U.S. housing market, their business operating model was closely related to the risks of the U.S. real estate market at that time. The "two GSEs" were considered "too big to fail" in the U.S. housing market, with a status comparable to that of financial giant JP Morgan on Wall Street. At that time, both companies held a large amount of securities related to subprime mortgages (high-risk mortgages), and the value of these securities rapidly shrank as housing prices plummeted and loan default rates surged Trump is set to return to the White House in January to begin his second term, promising to reduce federal regulation on large companies, especially financial giants, and pledging further tax cuts, increased oil production, and strict immigration policies. These indicate that U.S. economic growth and inflation are likely to strengthen, which is seen as a positive factor for the stock market, with sectors such as finance, technology, defense, and fossil fuels potentially benefiting significantly.

"It is clear that this administration will be more friendly towards Wall Street and financial trading activities. This enthusiasm has precedent. For a long time, financial stocks have been viewed as the preferred sector during Republican administrations, primarily due to expectations of regulatory easing and a more favorable environment for major financial giants and large-scale merger and acquisition deals," said Jake Manoukian, head of U.S. investment strategy at JP Morgan Private Bank, in a report. His investment team is looking for more financial and asset management stocks for their 2025 portfolio