Investor and philanthropist George Soros delivers a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Jan. 23, 2020.
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It’s common for fund managers to talk up their investments. Legendary investor George Soros is taking the opposite tack.
His family office, Soros Fund Management, issued a statement criticizing one of its holdings, Palantir Technologies PLTR,
“ “SFM does not approve of Palantir’s business practices. SFM made this investment at a time when the negative social consequences of big data were less understood. SFM would not make an investment in Palantir today.” ”
That’s a statement issued on Soros’s Open Society website. The statement went on to explain that the investment was made by a portfolio manager at the firm in 2012 when Palantir was private. When Palantir went public, Soros’s investment was converted into shares in the public company.
“SFM has sold all shares in the company that it is not legally or contractually obliged to hold and will continue to sell shares as permitted,” the statement added.
Palantir has drawn criticism for the work it has done for the U.S. government, notably the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Investors have warmed to the company, as its stock has nearly doubled in its short history as a public company.
Soros Fund Management, now a family office, has roughly $4 billion in assets under management.
