By Adam Clark

Hedge fund managers are famed for their complex bets on obscure assets. But Bill Ackman looks to be trying a different tack -- just buy the biggest U.S. technology stocks at the right times.

The latest addition to Ackman's portfolio was Microsoft, according to a social media post from the billionaire investor on Friday. The software giant joins Meta Platforms, Amazon.com and Google-parent Alphabet among the holdings of his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management.

Having stakes in four of the "Magnificent Seven" Big Tech stocks might not seem like strategy beyond the ken of the ordinary investor. But Ackman's case is that simplicity is a virtue and even the largest companies can be bargains.

"We acquired Alphabet when the stock declined substantially on the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, Amazon in the weeks following Liberation Day, and Meta more recently on the market's response to the company's unexpectedly large cap ex guidance and expenditures," Ackman wrote on X.

When it comes to Microsoft, Pershing started building a position in February, after the company's shares declined following its earnings report. Ackman didn't detail the size of the stake, which he said would be disclosed in regulatory filings later Friday.

At the end of 2025, Pershing Square Capital Management had a portfolio worth around $15.5 billion, with close to 40% of that accounted for by his stakes in Meta, Amazon and Alphabet, according to regulatory filings. The hedge fund's other largest holdings were in Brookfield Corp., Uber Technologies and Restaurant Brands.

Microsoft, in addition to being purchased by Pershing Square Capital Management, will be a "core holding" in the Pershing Square USA closed-end fund, which was recently listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Ackman said.

Ackman originally came to fame as an aggressive activist investor, but has pivoted in recent years to running an investment empire spanning two publicly traded equity funds, a publicly traded asset manager, and a publicly traded real estate company.

Since 2018, Ackman's main investment vehicle, London-listed Pershing Square Holdings, has returned 22.6% annually after fees versus 14.3% for the S&P 500 index. However, its return for 2026 looks less impressive, down 4.2% through May 12.

Ackman's holdings across his investment portfolio aren't limited to big technology companies -- he has stakes in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies which he has campaigned for the U.S. government to release from government control. He also launched a roughly $60 billion bid for Universal Music Group last month.

Barron's has previously suggested the Pershing Square USA closed-end fund is the most attractive vehicle for investors wanting to back Ackman, due to its discount to its portfolio value.

Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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May 15, 2026 11:02 ET (15:02 GMT)

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