Soros Makes Big Investment in Snapchat Parent

Hungarian-American financier George Soros made a big investment in the parent of Snapchat, the disappearing-message app that went public in March, according to a securities filing Monday.

In addition, Mr. Soros raised his bet against the S&P 500, the main index used to measure big-stock performance in the U.S., disclosing "put" options on 1,292,600 shares of SPDR S&P 500 ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the index.

The holdings were disclosed in a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a quarterly requirement for investors managing more than $100 million. The report offers a snapshot of Mr. Soros's holdings as of March 31.

Founded by Mr. Soros in 1969, Soros Fund Management LLC manages a portion of the Soros family's money. The rest of the family's wealth is distributed among other hedge funds and investment firms.

The value of Mr. Soros's holdings in the fund rose to $4.96 billion, from $4.32 billion as of Dec. 31.

Mr. Soros, who helped pioneer the modern hedge fund, rose to prominence as "the man who broke the Bank of England" by betting against sterling in 1992.

A top Democratic donor and supporter of liberal causes, Mr. Soros, 86 years old, has been bearish on the global economy, warning of a looming financial crisis with debt-laden China at the center of the storm.

Late last year, Mr. Soros's firm closed its position in Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest gold miner by output, as he readjusted his stock picks after the U.S. presidential election.

In the most recent period, Soros Fund Management reported it had bought 1.65 million shares in Snap Inc., an investment valued at roughly $37 million as of the end of the quarter. Based on Monday's closing price-and assuming he still owns the same number of shares-the investment would be down to about $34 million.

The filing also shows Mr. Soros opened a position in Kinder Morgan Inc. along with smaller stakes in Chevron Corp., Dow Chemical Co. and Chesapeake Energy Corp.

Meanwhile, he sold his stake in an ETF that tracks the financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF-an investment valued at more than $72 million as of March 31-and closed his position in Bank of America Corp.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 15, 2017 19:31 ET (23:31 GMT)