Caisse increases stake in some emerging markets ETFs

The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec increased its holdings in two emerging markets exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the end of the second quarter, according to its 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The fund raised its interest in the iShares China Large-Cap ETF by 79.3% to 5,080,000 shares and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 5.5% to 17,187,300 shares.

The Caisse also bought 500,000 shares in the iShares MSCI Philippines ETF in the second quarter. It had no shares in the ETF three months earlier.

The fund reduced its stake in the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 31.4% to 248,150 shares. It also sold all of its shares in both the iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund and the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped Index Fund.

The Caisse also reduced the number of shares in these U.S. banks:

  • Bank of America (15,409,055 compared with 17,650,900);
  • Bank of New York Mellon (830,810 compared with 954,700);
  • BlackRock (107,987 compared with 128,800);
  • Capital One (476,200 compared with 586,700);
  • Citigroup (4,595,877 compared with 5,007,500);
  • Goldman Sachs (371,691 compared with 426,700);
  • JPMorganChase (5,136,701 compared with 5,583,400); and
  • State Street (371,800 compared with 427,000).

Between the end of March and the end of June, it increased its stake in the iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF by 80.8% to 34,460 shares, more than doubled its interest in Visa by 132.2% to 855,076 shares and boosted its stake in Mastercard by 8.2% to 265,950 shares.

The Caisse also initiated a position in the iShares Global Healthcare ETF and held 57,020 shares. At the same time, it reduced its stake in Merck and Pfizer, both of which are top holdings in the ETF. However, the fund increased its interest in Johnson & Johnson, which is the top holding in the ETF.

Institutional investment managers with more than US$100 million in securities traded, such as the Caisse, must file a 13F form with the SEC within 45 days of the end of a calendar quarter.

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