GoldenTree Asset Management garnered headlines recently by reportedly investing in bitcoin, but that's a story for the next round of 13F filings. Meantime, it might be instructive to look at what else it's buying -- and what it's selling.
With roughly $3.8 billion AUM, it's biggest bet in 1Q was increasing its stake in Austrian bank Bawag P.S.K. (OTC:BWAGF), a holding it acquired in a 2012 debt conversion. Meantime, GoldenTree has cut back its positions in Brazilian retailer Via Varejo (OTC:GBXPY) and U.S. student loan purveyor SLM Corp. (Nasdaq:SLM). Overall, it seems to be backing away from growth names and gravitating toward Materials, Energy and Utilities stocks. With the defensive equities portfolio GoldenTree is pursuing, maybe bitcoin is the high-risk, high-return asset it needs.