The "mentor" of Bessent and Walsh, Druckenmiller, made "precise" opening positions in Q4 in financial stock ETFs, S&P equal weight ETFs, and Brazil ETFs

After the U.S. stock market closed on Friday, February 14 (Eastern Time), the 13F filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that legendary investor Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office made major portfolio adjustments in Q4 2025.

In Q4, Druckenmiller precisely opened positions in the Financial Sector ETF (XLF), S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), and Brazil ETF, while liquidating Meta and continuing to add to Alphabet (Google).

This portfolio report comes as two of Druckenmiller’s protégés—Scott Bessent and Kevin Warsh—formally enter the core of U.S. economic policy decision-making. Bessent took office as U.S. Treasury Secretary this January, while Warsh has just been nominated as Federal Reserve Chair.

“Precision” Opening of Financial ETF, S&P Equal Weight ETF, and Brazil ETF

According to the filing, Druckenmiller newly bought the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) in Q4, establishing a position of 5.4956 million shares, with an end-of-period market value of about $301 million. This move made XLF his portfolio’s second-largest holding, accounting for 6.7% of total assets.

Meanwhile, Duquesne Family Office also newly bought the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), holding 1.1739 million shares with a market value of about $225 million, making up 5% of the portfolio.

These two ETF trades together accounted for more than 11% of his investment portfolio. Market analysis points out that buying XLF is typically seen as a bet on relaxed financial regulation and a favorable interest rate environment for bank profits; while buying RSP (an equal-weight index) instead of SPY (a market-cap-weighted index) shows Druckenmiller’s anticipation that the breadth of the market rally will expand, with capital likely to flow from crowded tech giants to a broader range of industries.

In addition, Druckenmiller also newly bought the iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ), holding 3.5526 million shares at a market value of about $113 million, accounting for 2.51%.

Tech Stocks Diverge: Liquidating Meta, Adding to Google and Sea

In terms of tech stocks, Druckenmiller made significant divergent moves in Q4.

On the reduction side: Duquesne Family Office sold all its 76,100 shares of Meta Platforms in Q4. This liquidation led to about a 1.38% negative exposure change in his portfolio. He also fully exited pharmaceutical stock Verona Pharma (VRNA), selling over 1 million shares.

On the addition side: Druckenmiller continued to add to Alphabet (GOOGL). In Q4, he increased his holdings by 282,800 shares, a surge of 276.71%, bringing his total holding to 385,000 shares at the end of the period, with a market value of about $120 million.

At the same time, he significantly increased his position in Southeast Asian internet giant Sea Ltd (SE), adding 669,900 shares, an increase of 244.32%, with an end-of-period market value of about $120 million.

Additionally, although pharmaceutical stock Natera Inc (NTRA) remains his largest holding (accounting for 12.8%), he reduced other pharmaceutical positions. He cut Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) by 10.719 million shares, a decrease of 64.6%; Insmed (INSM) was reduced by 941,700 shares, a drop of 38.86%.

As of the end of Q4 2025, Druckenmiller’s portfolio included a total of 62 stocks, with the top five holdings being: Natera Inc, Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF), Insmed Inc, S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP), and Teva Pharmaceutical.

An Important Indicator of U.S. Policy Trends?

Druckenmiller’s moves this quarter have attracted significant attention on Wall Street, mainly due to his special relationship with the new economic officials of the Trump administration.

Treasury Secretary Bessent previously worked for Druckenmiller at Soros Fund Management, and the two jointly orchestrated the shorting of the British pound in 1992. Federal Reserve Chair nominee Warsh has been a partner at Duquesne Family Office since 2011. According to sources, Warsh and Druckenmiller maintain extremely frequent communication, sometimes speaking more than a dozen times a day; Bessent also keeps close contact with Druckenmiller.

This “mentor-protégé” relationship has led the market to speculate that “Druckenmiller Economics”—namely anti-deficit, anti-inflation, and anti-tariff stances—may permeate policy formation through Bessent and Warsh.

Druckenmiller has long warned that the U.S. fiscal deficit is a “debt bomb” and advocates cutting welfare spending. On monetary policy, he tends toward a hawkish stance and criticized the Federal Reserve for raising rates too slowly during the pandemic. Notably, he is explicitly opposed to tariff policies, which potentially conflicts with Trump’s core trade agenda.

Bessent once commented in an interview with the Financial Times, “In the field of global macro trading, Druckenmiller is a unique presence.”

Now, as his protégés take office, the portfolio changes of this “unique presence” have become a key indicator for the market to observe Washington’s policy direction.